All I Know
by mslaurenmichelle
Summary: AU where instead of working at San Antonio Memorial, our favorite set of doctors are now police officers. TC and Jordan start off as just partners. But when someone keeps leaving Jordan threatening letters, will something more develop between the two of them?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One: Can't Find The Air**

 **Author's Note: Hello everyone! This is my latest fic for The Night Shift! It's AU and it isn't related to the hospital at all – they're police officers and lawyers (mostly because I recently got completely caught up on Law and Order: SVU). I've been wanting to write something a little different from the show and this is it. I hope you all enjoy. As always, I don't own The Night Shift or any of its characters. The chapter title comes from Barely Breathing by Duncan Sheik and the fic title comes from You by Switchfoot.**

"Got any plans for the weekend?" TC asked Jordan, his partner at the San Antonio Police Department, standing up to put on his jacket after the end of a particularly grueling day at the police station.

"Surprisingly, yes," Jordan said, not looking up from her computer screen. "Lots of weekend plans."

"Hot date?"

"Nope, my sister and niece are in town for a few days. So, I'm finishing up all the work I have now and not thinking about it this weekend. It's going to be great." She looked up from her computer and looked at the dark circles under her partner's eyes. "Everything okay with you?"

TC sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Landry has me running back and forth from my apartment to hers with pregnancy food cravings. And we're still in the state of limbo where I don't know if we're together or not together."

"That's why you need to actually talk to her, T." Jordan said, writing something down on a Post-it note. She stuck it to her computer and sighed. "Do something nice for her this weekend. Or let her know that you're all in for the baby."

"See, that's the thing—" TC said as Jordan's phone started to ring.

"Sorry, it's Caroline," she said, looking at the screen. "It shouldn't be too long if you still wanted to talk."

"Nah, it's nothing. Have a good weekend with your sister. I'll see you on Monday." TC turned off his computer and walked towards the doors.

Jordan frowned and answered her phone. "Hey, sis, what's up?"

"Nora and I just landed in San Antonio and we're on the way to your place. Stop working so you can enjoy the weekend with your favorite sister and your favorite niece."

"You are my only sister and Nora's my only niece. I think I'm obligated to say that," Jordan said, standing up to turn her computer off. "And I just finished up working. I'll see you when you get to my place."

"Yay!" Jordan heard her niece, Nora, say in the background of the call.

"Okay, I'm getting on the highway now. I'll see you in fifteen minutes," Caroline said, hanging up her phone.

Jordan smiled to herself as she put her coat on, thinking about everything they were going to do during the weekend.

And the best part was that Jordan didn't have anything to think about the whole time.

"Getting ready to head out?" Jordan heard her boss, Topher say. "Wait, you're actually getting out of here on time for once? When was the last time that happened?"

"I have no clue, but I'm definitely not complaining. Try not to call me in this weekend, my sister and niece are here for the weekend."

"I'll do my best. Have a good weekend," Topher said, smiling at her.

Jordan smiled back and started walking out the door, before getting stopped by one of the guys from the mail room. "This was just dropped off for you," he said, handing her an unmarked envelope.

She frowned and took it, sliding her finger across it. She pulled out a letter and her hands started shaking as soon as she read the contents of the letter. "Hey! Do you know who sent this or who brought it in?"

"No idea. I wasn't the one who processed it."

Jordan felt her shoulders drop and she sighed. "Okay, thanks for your help. Have a good weekend," she said, heading towards her car.

-X-

"So, how's that cute partner of yours at the station doing?" Caroline asked, taking a sip of her wine after Nora had gone to bed.

"Cute partner? Are you talking about TC? Because there's a lot of other adjectives I'd use to describe him before I'd get to cute."

"Oh please, you know you love him. You're just too embarrassed to admit it."

"Caroline, he's my partner. He's, like, way off limits. Besides, he's my best friend and he's about to have a baby. I'm not one to stand in the way of someone's happiness," Jordan said, running a hand through her hair. "Besides, he's too much of a pain in the ass to deal with at work _and_ in my personal life."

"I call bullshit. You are so in love with him. But you are too much of a good girl and a rule follower to do anything about it."

"Mom raised me well," Jordan said, raising her glass to her sister.

"Mom raised you too well. You never had a rebellious stage."

"That's because when I was 15, Dad died. Mom would have exploded if she had two rebellious daughters living at home." Jordan took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "All things considered, I think you and I both turned out pretty well. You're married to a senator, we're both living large in big cities…I think Dad would be proud."

"He'd gloat to everyone about "his girls" and half of what he told people would be highly embellished," Caroline said. "That's what happens when your dad is an author."

Jordan nodded and swirled her drink around. "Hey, Caroline, can you keep a secret?"

"Of course. What's on your mind?"

Jordan took the note out of her back pocket and handed it to her sister. "I got this letter today. And I've been getting one, every Friday, for the last six weeks."

Caroline took the sheet of paper and scanned the letter. "Have you told anyone about this?" she asked, looking at Jordan with her eyebrows raised.

"No one. Not TC, not my boss. I haven't even told Gwen. Just you."

Caroline turned her attention back to the letter and read it again. "Jordan," she said, putting the letter on the table in between them. "I think you have a stalker."

-X-

When TC's phone started to ring in the middle of the night, he didn't even need to look at the caller ID to know who was calling him. Just like she had the last four nights, Landry was calling at exactly three in the morning. "Yeah," he said, trying to wake up a little.

"Hey, I know it's late," Landry said on the other line. "But I'm starving. Do you think you could bring those nachos you brought over the last few nights? With extra jalapeños?"

TC sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah. Just let me get dressed and I'll be on my way. Do you want taco meat or chicken this time?"

Landry was silent for a minute. "Could you do both?"

"Yeah," TC said, sighing again. "I'll be there soon."

Ten minutes later, TC pulled up to the all night stand where he'd been getting Landry her food for the last few nights. "Back again, man?" one of the workers asked, already getting TC's order ready for him.

"What can I say, Landry's been craving the food. And you guys are one of the only places that's open all night around here," TC said, pulling out his wallet to pay.

"It's on the house this time. We'll see you soon," he said, handing TC the nachos.

TC nodded in appreciation before heading back to his car. He got in, set the nachos on the seat beside him and rubbed his eyes, hoping to wake up just a little bit more before going to Landry's.

When he got to her apartment, he walked up to her floor and went to knock on her door, pausing to look in the window that was open. He expected to see Landry half asleep on the couch, just like she'd been the last few nights. Instead, she saw Landry sitting and talking to someone that TC had met briefly when they were still dating. And he definitely didn't like what he saw going on in the apartment.

"Screw it," TC said, walking back towards the stairs. He dumped the nachos in the trashcan before he walked out of the apartment complex.

If Landry wasn't all in, he sure as hell wasn't going to waste his time.

-X-

"So, not that I don't love nearly unexpected visits from you, but this one was fairly short notice," Jordan said that Saturday as her, Caroline and Nora were wandering idly around Target. "Is everything okay?"

"Everything's fine. There's just…I found out something about Dad. And I don't know how you're going to take this, especially since I didn't take it very well." Caroline said, taking something off a shelf. "Apparently, Dad had a secret life that we didn't know about."

"Secret life? Caroline, I think you've been watching way too many soap operas. There's no way Dad had a secret life."

"I'm serious, Jordan. When Nick was running for election, one of his campaign workers found out that Dad had been having an affair since I was seven. Long story short, we have this long lost brother living in New York City."

"Long lost brother? You're insane. There's no way Dad cheated on Mom. They were the perfect couple."

"I'm telling you the truth." Caroline sighed and shook her head. "I thought, since you have more access to criminal files than I do, that you could look him up. Find out what you can about him." She fished through her bag and pulled out a small note card with some information on it. "That's all Nick was able to tell me," she said, handing the note card to Jordan.

Jordan looked at the information briefly and sighed. "I'll see what I can do."

-X-

"Why is it that when I left on Friday, you were in that same position?" TC asked, coming into the station the following Monday, seeing Jordan hunched over her computer. "Did you leave the station?"

"I promise you I left. I just had a huge bomb dropped on me and I need to figure out what is going on," Jordan said, typing something quickly into her computer.

"Everything okay?" Drew, one of their fellow officers on TC and Jordan's squad, asked, coming into the station.

"Not really. Apparently, my dad isn't the person my sister and I thought he was." She looked up from her computer screen and looked at her two coworkers. "I've been a big sister for twenty-three years and I had absolutely no clue.

"That's some heavy stuff," Kenny, Drew's partner on the squad, said when he came into the station. "How'd you find out?"

"Caroline was here for the weekend and she told me. Something about it coming up when Nick was running for the senate." Jordan ran a hand through her hair. "I know nothing about having a brother. All my life, it was me, my sister, my mom and my dad. I never thought he would have this whole secret family."

The three guys shared a look. "We could teach you what it's like to have a brother," Drew said, shrugging his shoulders.

Jordan raised an eyebrow. "Get big sister lessons from the three of you? I don't think so. Besides, I don't really know if I want to make contact with this guy. Think how awkward that would be."

TC opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by the door opening, revealing Topher and Scott, the squad's Assistant District Attorney. "I hope you all had a good weekend because we've got ourselves a new case," Topher said, going over to the squad room's main computer to pull something up. "Over the weekend, there were a string of burglaries and homicides within a block of each other. There's a bunch of tips that came in, so Drew and Kenny, you're going to go through them. T, I want you on site, trying to find any witnesses or anyone with any information. Jordan, you go to the morgue and talk to Gwen about the victims. And remember that it isn't social hour," Topher said, giving Jordan a knowing look.

"Yes sir," Jordan said, closing out the open pages where she was investigating her newfound brother. She pushed back her chair and walked out of the squad room, slowing her pace once she was out of sight from the rest of her team.

She heard the door open and turned around to see Scott following her out. "Hey," he said, stopping in front of her. He reached out and took one of her hands and she smiled back.

"Hey yourself," she said, leading them out of the station. "How was your weekend?"

"Same old, same old. How was your weekend with your sister?"

"Interesting, to say the least. I'll fill you in on the details later." Jordan quickly kissed him on the cheek, hoping no one would see her do it. "I should go. I probably have about five dead bodies waiting for me in morgue."

"I have two witnesses I have to prep for court. Any chance you want to switch?"

"Not a chance. I'll see you around," she said, smiling at him before heading out to her car.

-X-

"What do you have for me, Gwen?" Jordan asked, walking into the morgue a few minutes later. "Anything fascinating?"

"Oh, it's always fascinating," Gwen said, smiling at her best friend. "What do you want to know about the victims?"

"Everything you've got," Jordan said, looking at the five bodies lying on the metal tables in the morgue at the hospital.

Gwen sighed and started filling Jordan in on everything that had happened to victims before they met their untimely deaths. And while Jordan should have been paying attention, she couldn't stop her mind from wandering to the two notes that were folded in the back pocket of her pants. One of them was the note card with the name of her brother on it.

The other was her most recent note from her stalker.

"Are you listening to anything I'm saying?" Gwen asked, snapping Jordan out of her thoughts.

"What? Sorry. My mind is off in other places right now. What were you saying?" Jordan asked, turning her attention to one of the victims.

"Everything okay?"

Jordan looked at Gwen and sighed. "Any chance you can keep a secret?"

"Depends on what it's about," she replied, crossing her arms across her chest.

With shaking hands, Jordan pulled the note out of her back pocket. "I think I have a stalker," she said, handing Gwen the note.

Gwen looked at the note, then at Jordan and took off her medical gloves. "A stalker?" she asked, taking the note. She started reading it, her eyes widening the entire time.

-X-

"Hey, Jordan," Topher said when she got back to the squad room. "A package arrived for you while you were at the morgue with Gwen. It's sitting on your desk."

"Thanks, Toph," she said, sitting down at her desk. She looked at the package warily and sighed, grabbing her keys to cut through the packing tape. A stack of photographs slid out and Jordan picked them up, gasping when she saw the first one on top.

It was a photo of her and Scott on one of their first dates.

Jordan quickly flipped through the rest of the photographs, noticing they had to be taken in close range. She stopped when she got to the last one, which was a photo of her, Caroline and Nora from when they went to Target.

Just two days ago.

Jordan saw a sheet of paper had fallen out with the photos and she picked it up with shaking hands.

I'M WATCHING YOU.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two: Get Out Of My Head**

 **Author's Note: Hello everyone. Thanks for coming back for the next chapter. As always, I don't own The Night Shift or any of its characters. The chapter title comes from Unbeautiful by Lesley Roy.**

"I don't know how much longer I can take this," she said to Gwen one day when the two of them were getting lunch. "It's getting so much worse than I ever thought it would."

"Maybe you need to tell someone who can do something about it. You work for the police department. They can help you." Gwen frowned at Jordan as she took a sip of her water. "Have you at least told TC?"

"Tell TC?" Jordan asked, raising her eyebrow. "Telling TC is the opposite of a good idea. I'd never get a moment of peace. Besides, he has enough on his plate. The last thing he needs to know is that his partner has a stalker."

"I'm just saying, TC would make sure someone was with you at all times. It's not a bad idea," Gwen said, sitting back in her seat.

"I really don't want to talk about this anymore, Gwen," Jordan said, looking around her, hoping that whomever had been following her around the last month wasn't near her at that moment.

"Fine, I'll change the topic. How are things with you and Scott? Has the squad found out you're dating each other yet?"

"Nope, and I intend for it to stay that way," Jordan said, hearing her phone start to vibrate with an incoming text message. She bit her lip and looked around again, hoping that it wasn't from her stalker.

"Think it's him?" Gwen asked, looking at the look on Jordan's face. "Just tell someone so you don't have to jump every time your phone goes off."

"I don't jump every time my phone goes off," Jordan said, looking at the message. She exhaled slowly when it was just Caroline, asking her for the umpteenth time if she'd found out anything about their dad's mystery life. "I should get back to the station, though." She pushed her chair out and stood up. "Thanks for the lunch idea. It's nice to get out of the station sometimes."

"It's nice to get out of the morgue too." Gwen stood up and hugged her friend. "If you need anything, I'm a text away. You don't have to go through this alone."

"Thanks, Gwen. I'm sure everything is going to be fine soon." Jordan glanced over her shoulder one last time before heading to her car.

As she drove to the station, she thought a lot about whoever was stalking her. She was a police detective; there was a wide range of suspects who it could be. She'd worked in the police department since she was 22 and she was 28. There were literally hundreds of people who could be wanting their revenge.

That made it hard to narrow down who it could be.

-X-

"Good, Jordan, you're back," Topher said when she got back into the squad room and took her seat at her desk. "The time has come for our annual meetings with Internal Affairs and our psychology checks," Topher said, causing everyone to groan. "I know, I know. It's not my favorite time either. But, too switch it up a little, I figured we'd go in reverse alphabetical order. I already went, so Kenny, it's your turn."

Jordan groaned inwardly. She only had a limited time to figure out what she was going to do with the Internal Affairs questioning and the psych evaluation.

It would definitely be frowned upon that she has a stalker, after all.

-X-

"Good afternoon, Detective Alexander," Michael Ragosa, the Internal Affairs officer for their station, said when Jordan was about to get questioned. "Let's get down to business. I'll review your cases from the last year and offer any recommendations I see fit. Then I'll leave the room, and the psychologist will come in to complete your psychological evaluation. Any questions?"

"Nope, I'm just ready to get this over with," Jordan said, rubbing her hands on her pants.

Ragosa nodded and opened her personnel file, scanning it briefly before looking up at her. "How long have you been a detective here in San Antonio?"

"Six years, sir," Jordan said.

He nodded. "Well, there aren't any complaints against you in your file. No record of excessive force and good reviews from Captain Zia and your fellow officers." He shut the file and crossed his arms across his chest. "Have you considered taking your sergeant's exam?"

"Sergeant's exam? No, not really."

Ragosa studied her for a minute. "Well, I really think you should consider it." He turned towards his briefcase and pulled out some papers and a brochure. "Here's some information on it. Why don't you think it over for a little and let me know when you have an answer."

Jordan nodded and took the papers, looking them over. "Well, I'll think over."

"I think you'd make an excellent sergeant." He shut his briefcase and stood up. "Oh, one last thing. I've heard you're in a relationship with your ADA. Is that true? Because you know that's a huge conflict of interest. And it could affect your potential movement in the department." He gave her a knowing look and started to leave. "I look forward to hearing your answer about the exam. The psychologist will be in shortly."

Jordan picked up the sheets of paper that Ragosa left and looked them over. Of course, Jordan didn't expect to be just a detective for the rest of her time at the station, but she didn't think she'd be propositioned about the sergeant's exam that quickly. She was the one on the squad with the least seniority.

"Detective Alexander? I'm Rebecca Stewart, I'm going to be conducting your psychological examination today."

"Hi. And you can just call me Jordan."

"Then you can call me Becky," she said with a smile. "I don't think this should take too long. I was just looking over your file during your meeting with Lieutenant Ragosa and everything looks fine. Is there anything you're concerned about?"

Jordan swallowed thickly and tried to keep her face neutral. "I don't think so."

Becky studied her face and frowned slightly. "I feel like you aren't being completely open with me. This session will go quickly if we have an open and honest dialogue."

Jordan let out a small laugh. "Open and honest dialogue? Does anyone actually talk like that? Or is that in the script that you're supposed to know the basics of before coming in here to talk with us?" Jordan ran a hand through her hair. "You want open and honest? I've been getting these creepy notes and texts and emails for a month or so. It's getting to the point where my best friend is freaking out, thinking that something bad is going to happen to me." She felt tears coming to her eyes and she quickly wiped them away. "And I haven't told anyone from the squad because I know them and they're going to want to protect me all the time. And I don't need protecting," Jordan said, not bothering to wipe away the tears that were falling at a faster pace now. "And I just found out my dad isn't the guy I thought he was and I have a half-brother that I never knew about." She sniffed and looked at Becky. "How's that for an open and honest dialogue?"

Becky wrote some things down in a folder then looked back at Jordan. "You have a stalker? That's a serious statement. Are you getting help from anyone?"

"Did you not listen to what I said?" Jordan said as she started crying harder. "I can't do that."

"Okay," Becky said, writing something down. She tore off a sheet of paper and handed it to Jordan. "I think you need to take some time off from working. Not long. Maybe just a week to recuperate. And you need to tell people that you have a stalker so they can help you. You have many co-workers who can help you out. You need some time to be away from the stress. So, I want you to get your bag and go home. I'll let your captain know what I said."

"But I want to work. That's what keeps me sane."

Becky frowned at Jordan. "Then I think you need to find something else to keep you sane." She pushed her chair back and walked out of the room.

Jordan sniffed and wiped away the tears that were still on her face. She didn't need the guys to know she had started crying during her psych eval. She took a few deep breaths and walked out of the room and headed over to her desk.

"Good thing those are over with, isn't it?" TC asked from where he was sitting. He looked closely at Jordan and frowned. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Jordan said, turning off her computer. She opened one of her desk drawers and took out her purse and started packing up to leave for the day.

"What are you doing?"

"I started crying during my evaluation," Jordan snapped, turning her attention towards TC. "I started crying and she said I have to go home for the rest of the day and that I should take a week off." Without another word, she grabbed her bag and stormed towards the entrance to the station, slamming the door when she left.

-X-

A few hours later, Jordan was curled up on her couch, watching a movie when she heard a knock on her apartment door. She paused the movie and walked over to the door, making sure to check to see who it was before opening it. Seeing it was Scott, she sighed and opened the door. "Hey," she said, stepping to side so she could let him in.

"I heard you had a rough day," he said. "You wanna talk about it?"

"Not really. We do have to talk though," Jordan said, shutting the door. "I'm sure you heard that IA came to visit today."

"Why were they there?" Scott asked.

"Yearly reviews. It's no big deal. But, when Ragosa was leaving, he mentioned something about the two of us being together. Did you say anything to your boss?"

Scott raised an eyebrow. "I thought we were keeping this on the DL for a little while."

"So did I. But he mentioned something about a conflict of interest."

Scott sighed. "I could see how that would be a problem." He walked closer to Jordan and took one of her hands. "So, what do you think we should do?"

Jordan bit her lip. "Well, you love your job and I love mine. We both are going to eventually want to be promoted. This could stop that from happening." She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "Besides, this wasn't anything serious. You never even took me on a proper date."

Scott chuckled and gave Jordan a half-smile. "That is true. So, what do you say? Friends?"

"That's definitely not a conflict of interest," she said, smiling. "I'll see you around, Scott."

"See you around, Jordan." He started walking to her door and stopped for a minute. "And whatever happened today, don't let it affect you for the long haul. I'm sure it wasn't too bad." He smiled at her, opened the door and left.

Jordan took a deep breath and went back to the couch. She unpaused the movie she was watching and fished around for her phone. She hit the center button and saw she had three messages, one from Gwen, one from TC and one from a blocked number.

Feeling her heart start to race, she unlocked her phone and saw she had a new message from her stalker. She read the message, threw her phone back down on the couch and stopped the movie.

"I am too sober to deal with this right now," she said, grabbing her wallet.

-X-

"Thanks for meeting with me," TC said to Landry when they met for a late dinner near the police station. "There's something we have to talk about."

"Yeah, there definitely is," she said, crossing her arms across her chest. "What happened to you Friday night? I waited for you to show up but you never did."

"I did show up," TC said, trying to keep his voice level. "When I got to your apartment, I saw you were up with Peter." He watched as the color started to drain from Landry's face. "I thought when you told me you were pregnant that you'd stopped seeing him."

"I swear to God, T, I did. He just showed up out of the blue. He wanted to talk. I promise that's all that happened."

"Really? That's all the happened? Because that's what you said when we were dating and you and I both know that wasn't true."

"That's not fair, TC."

"No, I think it's completely fair." He looked down at his phone, seeing he had an incoming call. He pressed ignore and turned his attention back to Landry. "Look, I just wanted you to know that I'm all in when it comes to the baby. But when it comes to you and me ever being in a relationship, it's not going to work."

Landry pressed her lips together. "It was never going to work," she muttered.

TC heard his phone go off again and he looked at who was calling him. He saw Jordan's number pop up and saw the goofy picture she set from one night when they were on a stakeout together.

"Let me guess, it's Jordan. You know how I know that? Because it's always Jordan. I've always come after Jordan." She wiped her mouth with her napkin and pushed her chair back. "I'll let you know when I have my next doctor's appointment."

TC watched her walk off for a second before turning his attention back to his phone. He accepted the call this time and put the phone to his ear. "Hey, Jordan. What's up?"

"Hi, TC," she said in an airy tone that he'd never heard from her before. "How are you?"

TC bit back a chuckle and ran a hand through his hair. "I'm good. How are you?" he asked, signaling to the waiter. Covering the receiver with his hand, he gestured to his half-eaten burger. "I'm going to need this to go. And can I get a bacon cheeseburger, medium well with mayo to go too?"

"Of course, sir," the waiter said.

"TC," he heard Jordan say into the phone. "I think I might be a little drunk."

"I can tell," he said, fishing around his pockets for his wallet. He pulled out a twenty dollar bill and laid it down on the table. "Where are you at? I should come get you so you don't get in more trouble with IA."

TC could hear Jordan groan. "I am _trying_ to forget about that," she said. "But I'm at that bar down the street from my place. I didn't even drive."

"Well, I'm getting some food right now, but I'll be there in about fifteen minutes. Stay out of trouble, blue eyes," he said, knowing it would get a rise out of her.

"My eyes are not blue, they're green," she screeched into the phone, just like she did every time.

"I must have forgotten," TC said, smiling to himself. "I'll be there soon."

Jordan was silent on the other line for a few seconds before she sighed. "Thanks, TC. You're the best partner a girl could ask for."

"It's what I strive for." The waiter laid the to go boxes down on the table and smiled at him. "I gotta go. I'll see you soon, Jordan." He hung up the phone and grabbed the boxes. "Thanks, man. Keep the change," he said, gesturing to the money on the table.

-X-

"There you are," Jordan said when she noticed him come into the bar.

"You know," TC said, sitting next to Jordan at the bar. "I've never seen you act like this."

Jordan turned to TC's direction, her eyes trying to focus on his face. "That's because I have this big problem right now. And I just wanted to forget about it for a little bit."

"Yeah," TC said, smiling at her. "And what problem would that be?"

"No, it's not work-related. Not really at least." She sighed and took a drink of the water that the bartender put in front of her. "T, can you keep a secret?"

"I don't know, Jor. I'm not the best at secret keeping. I've always been one to spill things accidentally."

"No, I need you to promise to keep this a secret," Jordan said. "The thing is…I've been getting this really strange…letters and texts lately."

"About what?"

"This guy…I don't know who he is…but he won't leave me alone." She felt herself start to cry and TC reached out to brush away the falling tears. "I thought I could handle it on my own, but I…can't," she said, taking a breath and exhaling. "I don't know what to do anymore."

TC frowned and stood up from the barstool he was sitting on. He held out his hands and Jordan frowned at him. "Come on," he said, taking her hands and helping her up. "Let's get you back to your place."

"I really don't want to be alone tonight." She pulled out her phone, trying to find something. "Look what he sent me tonight," she said, trying to focus on her screen to find the text message from an unknown number. She smiled triumphantly and handed her phone to TC. "It's not the nicest thing I've ever been sent."

TC looked at the phone, his eyes widening when he saw what was written. "Do you think he's going to be at your place?"

"I don't know. I want to think I'll be safe, but you never know."

TC focused on Jordan and took her hand. "You're staying with me tonight."

"T, I shouldn't," Jordan said, trying to focus on his eyes. "My place is going to be fine."

"You're staying with me," he said in a firmer tone. He helped Jordan get up and led her out of the bar. "Have you told anyone about the notes?"

"Just Gwen and Caroline. And the psychologist person. That's part of the reason I have to take a week off. It was part of our open and honest dialogue from earlier," Jordan said as she started giggling. "I've never been to your place before."

"It's nothing to be impressed by. It's pretty messy right now," he said, helping her get into his car without smacking her head against the door frame. She was bound to have a bad enough headache in the morning anyway.

The drive back to TC's place was fairly quiet, with the exception of Jordan giggling over whatever was popping into her head.

"Hey, funny girl, we're here," TC said, pulling up to his condo. "Can you manage getting out on your own?"

Jordan shot him a glance and opened her car door with ease. "I'm not _drunk_ , TC," she said, unbuckling her seatbelt as she got out of the car. "So, this is the famous bachelor pad. I've heard so many stories from you, Kenny, Drew and Toph."

"You haven't been here?" he asked, leading her to the door.

"Psh, no. I'm not into sports like you guys are." She rubbed her eyes and sniffed. "Thanks again, T. I really mean it."

"Yeah, I know you do." He opened the door and led her inside. "Let me fix my bed up for you and you can sleep there for the night, okay?" he said, leading her to the sofa so she could sit down.

"Okay," she sighed, kicking off her shoes.

TC went to the kitchen and filled up a glass of water and shook out two Advil tablets for her. He walked them over to where she was sitting and handed them to her. "Take these now. It'll help." He smiled at her and walked back to his room.

He pushed all his motorcycle magazines under his bed and paused, staring at the bedsheets. He couldn't remember the last time they'd been changed, which probably meant it had been awhile. He went back to the living room, to see if Jordan had a preference to what blanket she used.

"Hey, Jor, do you want—" He trailed off when he saw that she was curled up on her side, already asleep. He smiled and grabbed the blanket off the back of the couch and draped it over her. For just-in-case purposes, he dragged over a trashcan so she didn't have to stumble to the bathroom if she needed to get sick.

He went back into the kitchen and filled up another glass of water and brought the bottle of Advil over to the coffee table in front of her. "Goodnight, Jordan," he whispered. "Everything's going to be okay."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three: Fighting For You**

 **Author's Note: Hi everyone. Here's the next chapter in my fic. As always, I don't own The Night Shift or any of its characters. The chapter title comes from Through by Britney Christian, which was the song that was used in the background of the season two promo.**

Without fail, Jordan woke up the next morning a few minutes before her alarm would usually go off to start getting ready for work. But this time, it wasn't because she was anticipating her alarm going off. It was because she had a nightmare about her stalker.

"It was just a dream," she muttered to herself. She sat up and stretched her back, squinting slightly at the sunlight streaming into the living room from the sliver between the blinds.

She heard TC start to come down the stairs and sat up on the couch. "Thanks, T. For last night."

He blinked a few times and ran a hand through his hair. "I need coffee. Then we can talk."

Jordan swallowed thickly and followed him into the kitchen, watching him get the coffee ready. "Do you want any help?"

TC turned to look at Jordan and smiled. "Shouldn't you be hunched over a trashcan, throwing up because of how much you drank?"

"I never get sick from drinking. Except for a few times in college. But we don't talk about that."

"Well aren't you lucky?" He turned his attention back to the coffee maker, which was slowly making coffee they both needed. "But what happened?"

Jordan's eyes narrowed. "I was stressed out and mad at a professor. So I drank. A lot. And then threw up all over someone's apartment." Jordan chuckled slightly and shook her head. "I didn't even know the people who rented the apartment. It was a friend of one of my roommates."

TC started laughing when Jordan said that. "Not your shining moment."

"Definitely not my shining moment." She looked down at her hands and sighed. "You're going to tell the squad later, aren't you?"

"You really don't understand what needing coffee looks like, do you?" TC said in a teasing voice. He poured her a cup and a cup for himself. "Do you want anything to add?"

"Skim and sugar if you have it," she said, looking into her coffee cup.

TC nodded and set everything in front of her. He watched her with a careful eye, trying to figure out what to say to her. "So…this has been happening for a little while?"

"Just a couple of months. There hasn't been anything too threatening. Not yet at least. I thought about changing my cell phone number, but I haven't really had time to do that. Besides, this guy seems really determined."

"Determined?"

"Yeah. He was following me around town when Caroline was in town. And he took pictures. I got them one day at the station."

"Do you think it could be someone you arrested once who's out on parole?"

"That's what I was thinking. I'd been going in early and staying a little late at the station to look through old case files. I just haven't had any luck yet." She took a sip of her coffee and set the cup down on the counter. "If you want, you can start an investigation with the squad. I'll give you everything I have."

"That means IA is going to get involved. And move the case to another precinct. I'll talk to Toph, Drew and Kenny and see if they'd want to do something off the record." TC set his coffee cup on the counter and walked to where Jordan was standing and hugged her. "We're going to get this guy, Jordan. I promise."

She nodded and took a deep breath. "Thanks, T." She pulled away and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I guess I should get back to my place. I have massive plans with Netflix while I'm not working for the week."

"Do you think it's really safe to be at your place? You never know who's been in there or what's happened." TC thought to himself for a second. "I'll get one of the tech guys to comb through your apartment to see if it's been bugged. In the meantime, I'll take you to your place, you can grab some clothes and whatever else you'll need. Because you're going to stay here."

"I can't do that, T. I'll be fine."

"You're staying here. It'll only be for a few nights at the most. Besides, I've never had a girl roommate. It'll be fun." He noticed a strange look on Jordan's face. "Why do you have that look on your face?"

"I don't have a look on my face," Jordan said defensively.

"Jordan, I've known you for six years. I know almost everything about you. You're making a weird facial expression right now. What's with the weird face?"

Jordan rolled her eyes and sighed. "What would Landry say? I mean, I know you said she's not living here anymore and that the two of you aren't exactly together, but—"

"We're not together anymore. So it doesn't really matter. Come on, let's get your stuff from your place. I don't want you going stir crazy during the day because you don't have anything to do."

-X-

Later that morning, TC walked into the police station and bypassed stopping at his desk, instead going straight to Topher's office. He paused outside the door, trying to figure out what he was going to say to his boss. He took a deep breath and knocked once.

"It's open," Topher's voice said from the other side of the door.

"Hey, Toph, can we talk?" TC asked, opening the door. "It's important."

"Everything okay?" Topher asked, looking up from the report he was typing. He studied TC's face and frowned. "You didn't get in trouble with Internal Affairs did you?"

"No. Not yet at least," TC said, taking a seat on the other side of Topher's desk. "This isn't about me. It's about Jordan."

"Yeah, it's a shame the psychologist told her to take a week off. I have a case that she'd be good at," Topher said, gesturing to the many files on his desk.

"Listen, Toph, Jordan's in a bit of a…sticky situation right now." TC took the notes that Jordan gave him earlier and laid them out on the desk. He then started scrolling through his phone for the screen shots that Jordan sent him. "She has a stalker. She said it's been happening for a few months." He sat back in the chair as Topher glanced at the words from the texts and the notes.

"And she just told you about it?"

"Yeah. Look, she asked if we could investigate this. But she doesn't want IA involved. Especially since the case would be handled by someone else."

"We can do it off the books for a little bit. But as soon as IA gets a whiff of this, I'm going to have to cut it off." Topher looked up at TC. "Where should we start?"

"I want to make sure her apartment isn't bugged. And, for good measure, we should check out her car too. Earlier, Jordan said she'd started to go through some of her old case files to see if any of the perps have recently been paroled. I thought we could pick up there."

Topher nodded. "Send the new crime scene tech to Jordan's place. He's been itching for something to do. Just talk to O'Neill before you do anything."

"Got it. Thanks, Toph," TC said, getting up to fill Kenny and Drew in on what was happening.

-X-

Jordan was bored out of her mind. She looked at the clock on TC's wall and sighed. It was a little before noon and if she was at work, she'd be busy bugging Gwen for a victim's cause of death or pulling a prank on Kenny and Drew with TC if it was a light day.

But instead, she was on leave and was stuck at her partner's apartment because she didn't even know if it was safe for her to be in her own apartment.

And there was only so much Netflix she could watch before she felt her brain turn to goo.

She looked around TC's apartment, trying to find something she could read, or even look at, to keep her mind occupied. But all she could find were motorcycle magazines and sports books, which she wasn't remotely interested in.

She had just settled back into her spot on the couch when there was a knock on the door. "Finally, something that might give me something to do," Jordan muttered, pushing herself off the couch. She looked through the peephole and saw Landry standing on the other side. "Shit," Jordan muttered to herself.

She didn't have the energy to deal with this at that moment.

Taking a deep breath to prepare herself, she unlocked the door and opened it, a pleasant smile on her face. "Hi Landry," she said, trying to keep her voice airy and light.

"I should have known," Landry said, turning around to head back to the stairwell.

"Should have known what?" Jordan asked, crinkling her nose.

Landry paused at the top of the stairs and turned around to face Jordan. "I should have known that you'd be here. Especially given the conversation that TC and I had last night."

"I really need you to play catch up here because I have no idea what you're talking about."

Landry rolled her eyes and let out a puff of air through her nose. "Last night, TC and I got together to talk things over about the baby. And then you called." She shook her head. "I'm so tired of coming in second place to you."

"Okay, now I _really_ don't know what you're talking about. I mean, I called TC yesterday but that's because I needed to talk to him."

"And now you're alone in his apartment. Which is strange, don't you think, since you're supposed to be working right now?"

Jordan scratched at a spot behind her ear. "It's a little more complicated than you'd think."

"Can you just let TC know I stopped by? And tell him to call me when he gets a chance? It's about the baby." Landry said as she walked away. She walked towards the stairs again and turned around to face Jordan again. "He's in love with you, you know?" She sighed and started down the stairs again.

Jordan flinched like she'd been slapped. There was no way TC was in love with her. Absolutely no way.

-X-

"Okay, so TC, what should I do while I'm in here?" Paul Cummings, a new CSI tech, said, looking around Jordan's apartment. "Was there a murder here? Or a kidnapping?"

"No. I need you to make sure that the place isn't bugged. Bag any evidence and deliver it to O'Neill as soon as possible. Try not to tell anyone what you're doing. This is important and you better not screw it up," TC said sternly. He felt his phone start to vibrate in his pocket and took it out, seeing a call from Kenny coming through. "I have to take this phone call. Don't start until I'm off the phone. Understood?"

"Yes, sir," Paul said, watching TC as he walked into a corner of the apartment.

"What's going on, Kenny?" TC asked.

"Drew and I have been looking over past cases of Jordan's where the perps have been paroled. Do you think we should narrow it down based on the crime committed or anything?"

"Definitely flag the cases where the victim was stalked. Time wise, I'd say within the last six months to a year ago on the parole date."

"Anything else we should be looking for?"

"Think you can look up the cases from the last two years where Jordan arrested him but he walked? That's certainly motive enough."

"You got it. Anything else?"

"I think that's it. I'm at Jordan's place now. When we're done here, I'm gonna stop by my place and update Jordan on what's going on."

"Stop by the station first. Drew and I can have some files for her to look over to see if anything catches her eye. God knows she's probably going insane right about now."

"That certainly wouldn't surprise me. I'm gonna go so we can start the search. I'll see you soon." TC hung up his phone and walked over to where Paul was standing. "Okay, kid. Start your search."

-X-

Jordan looked at the clock, counting down the minutes until she thought TC would be home. She had just gotten another text message from her stalker and it made her absolutely sick to her stomach.

She heard keys turning in the lock and turned her attention to the door. TC walked in, carrying a bunch of file folders in his hands. "I come bearing gifts," he said, setting his keys and the files down on the table by the door. "You don't look good."

"Because I'm not," she said, tapping her phone in her hand. "I got another text." She walked over to where he was and handed him her phone. "I think I need a new number. I can't keep freaking out every time my phone goes off."

"We're going to get the guy, Jordan, I promise," TC said, taking the phone away from her. He picked up a stack of folders and handed them to her. "These are some possible suspects that we pulled from the system today. I figured you and I could take a look at them tomorrow."

"Why not start now?"

"I'm starving. Let's go get something to eat. Are you in the mood for anything specific?"

"I could go for some sushi," she said, making TC start laugh. "What's so funny?"

"I don't go near anything with raw fish in it, near it or touching it. What's your next choice?"

Jordan looked at him as Landry's words from earlier echoed in her mind. "I don't care. Surprise me."

"Come on," he said, opening the door. "I know a great place," he said, holding it open for her.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four: Swelling Up With Rage**

 **Author's Note: If anyone was wondering, the court case that I mentioned in this chapter is an actual case that's been playing out for years in the town I live in. I just changed some of the details. As always, I don't own The Night Shift or any of its characters. The chapter title comes from Burn The Pages by Sia.**

After Jordan's time away was up, she was more than happy to go back to work. There was only so much time she could do absolutely nothing without getting insanely bored.

She walked into the station the following Monday and breathed a sigh of relief, looking around at her surroundings. Sure, she'd only been gone for a week, but it was a week too long.

"Glad you're back, Jordan," Kenny said, coming into the station.

"Glad to be back." She walked over to her desk and sat down, looking at the stack of paperwork that was supposed to be done last week. She picked up the first file folder, examined it and looked at Kenny with a questioning look. "This case was processed already." She looked closer at the file and saw TC had signed off on it. She picked up other files from the stack and saw they were each signed off by TC, Kenny or Drew. "You guys took care of paperwork for me?"

"We didn't want you to be overwhelmed when you came back from leave." Kenny walked over from his desk and clapped his hand on Jordan's shoulder. "We wanted to take care of you."

Jordan sniffed and looked up at him. "Thanks, Kenny. You don't know how much I appreciate that," she said, feeling tears come to her eyes.

"We're going to catch this guy," he said, looking up when the door to Topher's office opened. "Everything okay, Toph?"

"I just got a call from the hospital. Do you remember the Lansing case? The guy who drown people in their bathtubs?"

"Vaguely. What happened?" Jordan asked.

"One of his neighbors found him dead this morning."

"Was he drowned in bathtub?" Kenny asked, trying to gain a few laughs from Topher and Jordan. Instead, the two of them glared at him. "I thought it was funny," he mumbled.

"He was slumped over on his couch, clutching a plane ticket and his passport in his hand. Seems as though our friend was planning on fleeing the country. I need the two of you to go to the hospital and do some digging around to see if it's more than a suicide."

"Got it, Toph," Jordan said, getting from her seat.

"Oh, and Jordan?" Topher said. "Welcome back."

"Thanks," Jordan said, smiling, as she walked out of the station with Kenny.

"You wanna drive or should I?" Kenny asked when they got out to the parking lot.

"You can drive," Jordan said, opening the passenger side door to his car.

He got in on the other side and started the car. "So, you and Gwen are friends, right?"

"She's my best friend. Why?" she asked, casting a knowing look in his direction. "She's not dating anyone right now."

"That's good to know."

"I can talk to the doctors who tried to save Lansing when we get to the hospital if you want to talk to Gwen to get his cause of death." She looked Kenny up and down. "I think the two of you would make a very cute couple."

"You think?"

"Oh yeah. And, when it takes us forever to get back to the station, I can tell Topher you were having the social hour with Gwen instead of me."

"I see how you work," Kenny said. "So, is there anything going on between you and TC?"

"Me and TC? What would make you think that?"

"I've just been noticing little things lately. Especially since he broke up with Landry. And he was extremely worried about you last week."

"There's nothing going on between me and TC. And he was worried because his partner is getting stalked. I'm sure if something like that was happening with Drew, you'd be worried too."

"I'm going to let you in on a little secret," Kenny said, pulling into a spot at the hospital. "TC's worrying about you is way more than it would be for me if something was happening with Drew. TC really cares about you and he was breathing down our necks last week to try and find your stalker." The two of them got out of Kenny's car and started walking into the hospital. "Besides, it's not often he'll let someone stay at his place for an entire week."

Jordan fell a few steps behind Kenny, thinking about what he said.

Maybe there was some truth to Landry's words after all.

-X-

"So, what did you find out at the hospital?" Topher asked when the two of them got back.

"The doctors who treated Lansing when he came in said it was consistent with a suicide," Jordan said, sitting back at her desk. "Gwen was working on her prelim but said from what she saw, she wouldn't have any doubt that it was a suicide."

Topher nodded. "Okay, that's all I needed to know. I'll go let the DA's office know what's going on."

Jordan turned her attention to her computer but found it hard to concentrate. She looked around her computer and watched TC while he was working. She let out a small sigh and turned back to her computer. _You're being ridiculous, Jordan_ she thought to herself. _He's your partner. Nothing more_.

"You okay, Jordan?" TC asked, snapping Jordan out of her thoughts.

"What? Yeah, I'm fine. Just got lost in my thoughts. Nothing major." She went back to work and still felt his eyes on her. "Now you're the one staring."

"You've become a lot harder to read these last few weeks. I used to be able to read you like a book. And now I have no idea what you're thinking about half the time."

"There's few things I think about anymore," Jordan said, looking away from her computer screen to look at TC. "Obviously, I think about whoever is stalking me and what his life is like and what he looks like. That's what takes up the majority of my brain. And the other parts are a hodge podge of things. Am I thinking about what I'm going to get my niece for her third birthday? Probably. But I'm also thinking about what I want to eat for dinner. There's also a small chance that I'm thinking about what's on TV tonight and I'm wondering if it's a show I like or if it's one that I can fall asleep to."

"You never used to be this complicated."

"I long for those days," Jordan said, sighing.

"We'll get the guy," TC said. He tried to give her a brave smile to hide that this whole situation was eating him up inside.

"Can I get your attention?" Topher said, coming out from his office. "I know you're all about to hate me for what I'm about to say, but it's that time of year again. Six weeks from now is the annual charity ball that department puts on. Any plus ones this year?" Topher asked, looking around. "Well, if that changes, just let me know as soon as possible so they can get added to the list. TC, when you get a chance, can I see you in my office?"

"Yeah, I'll be in there in a minute. Let me finish this report up," TC said, typing a few things on his computer. He waited until Topher had gone back into his office before turning back to Jordan. "If you need a place to stay again tonight, you can stay with me."

"No, I think I should be fine. Gwen was going to stop by after her shift at the hospital anyway. I'll be okay," Jordan said, smiling at him as he started walking to Topher's office.

"You know he's putting on a brave face for you, right?" Drew asked, watching TC go into Topher's office.

Jordan tucked her hair behind her ear and sighed. "Yeah. I do. And that's what scares me."

-X-

"You're late," Landry said flatly when TC got to her doctor's appointment.

"I know, I lost track of time at the station. Did I miss the appointment?"

Landry handed him a photo and stood up. "The baby's developing just fine for how far along I am. I don't understand how one week you can say you're all in for the baby and then the next week be this late for an appointment. That makes it seem like you're not all in."

"Look, things have been crazy at the station lately and I've been trying to pick up more overtime shifts so I can help when the baby comes. I don't want to be a deadbeat dad."

"And I appreciate that. But it would be nice if you could remember when doctor's appointments are since that's all you can do right now," Landry said as she started walking out of the doctor's office.

TC sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

-X-

"When was the last time we had an honest-to-god girl's night?" Gwen asked Jordan, leaning against the countertops in Jordan's kitchen as they made popcorn.

"Who knows? But it has definitely been way too long. Besides, this could be what I need. I need a night with my best friend, where we gossip about people we don't like and eat all kinds of food we shouldn't eat. It's exactly what I need tonight," Jordan said, smiling what seemed like her most genuine smile in a long time.

"Do you guys have any leads?"

"No, but I wish we did. TC snuck files out of the station when I was on leave last week about possible suspects but I didn't know who it could have been. I just wish I had a glance of who it could be. If I could just see a photograph or see a face, I know I'd be able to figure out who did it." Eager to change the subject, Jordan gave Gwen a knowing look. "So, a little birdie told me that someone is interested in getting to know you on a more personal level."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Gwen said, blood rushing to her cheeks.

"You know, we have the annual charity ball for the department coming up in a few weeks. I could drop a few hints about you wanting to get together with Kenny if you want."

"Matchmaker Jordan, back at it again."

"Damn straight," Jordan said, taking the popcorn out of the microwave. She shook the bag and dumped the popcorn into a bowl. "So, what should we start with? The classic rom-com or something more action packed?" She heard her buzzer go off and turned to look at the intercom on the wall. "You don't think it could be…"

"I don't think he'd be that brave yet. But I'm not the professional when it comes to this," Gwen said.

Jordan started wringing her hands and walked over to the intercom. "H-hello?" She let go of the button and listened. All she heard was heavy breathing. "I found you," a raspy voice said through the intercom.

Jordan turned to face Gwen with a horrified look on her face. "I-I-I—"

"Come on, you're going to my place. Pack your bags and go down the fire escape. I'll meet you in the next lot over," Gwen said, grabbing her car keys.

"I should call TC. Where's my phone?"

"Don't touch your phone. You can use mine in the car. Get moving. I'll meet you outside in five minutes."

-X-

"Are you okay?" TC asked, showing up on Gwen's doorstep when Jordan called him from the car.

She looked up at him and shook her head. "It's getting really serious, T. More so than I thought it would be."

TC and Gwen shared a look and slightly nodded at him and stepped aside, letting him in. He walked over to where Jordan was standing and wrapped his arms around her, trying to comfort her. At first, Jordan didn't return the hug in any sort of way but she eventually relaxed and buried her head in his chest and truly allowed herself to cry for the first time since the whole thing had started. "It's going to be okay, Jordan," he whispered, trying anything he could think of to calm her down. He tried to stay calm himself because in that very moment, seeing his partner and best friend break down crying over something that wasn't in her control was breaking him down inside.

"Um, I have to get back to the hospital," Gwen said, not wanting to disturb the two of them. "TC, do you think…"

"I can stay as long as Jordan needs me to," he said, dropping his arms so he could turn to look at Gwen. "I do need to talk to you about something though. Just briefly." He slightly tilted his head towards the door. Picking up on the fact that he wanted to talk somewhere Jordan wouldn't hear them, she nodded and followed him out her door.

"Do you have any new leads?" Gwen asked, making sure her front door was completely shut before she started talking.

"No. We don't even have a prime suspect. We have nothing." TC ran a hand through his hair. "I've known Jordan for six years and I've never seen her that scared. And with some of the situations we've been in, that's saying a lot."

Gwen nodded. "I've known her since college and I've never seen her this bad." She looked at her watch and sighed. "I have to get to the hospital. Call me if she needs anything." She started walking to her car before turning around to face TC. "Take care of our girl."

"I will," TC promised. "Nothing's going to happen on my watch."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five: Knew What It Was**

 **Author's Note: This chapter starts to kick up the romance a little bit so that's always exciting. As always, I don't own The Night Shift or any of its characters. The chapter title comes You Are In Love by Taylor Swift.**

"Has anyone seen Jordan?" TC asked a few days after the stalker had shown up at her apartment.

"She called in sick earlier," Drew said, covering the receiver of his work phone. "I think she has the flu or something."

TC sighed. "Okay. I need her opinion on a case. I'll be back in a little bit." TC started walking out the door but was stopped by Ragosa coming into the station.

"You're in a hurry," Ragosa said, crossing his arms. "Everything okay?"

"Just needing to get out to investigate a case. You know, do my job and everything," TC said, trying to brush past him.

"I've heard there's some stuff going down with your partner. Anything I need to be made aware of?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," TC said, trying to keep his expression neutral. He glared at Ragosa then left. He got in his car and drove to Jordan's new place, hoping that she actually was taking a sick day and not hiding because of the stalker.

He pulled up to the driveway and did a look around to make sure nothing was out of the ordinary. He jumped slightly when the door swung open, revealing Jordan still in her pajamas and a confused look on her face. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I need your help on a case. And Drew said you were sick. So I thought I'd bring the case to you."

Jordan sighed and stepped aside, letting TC into her place. "You could have called first, you know. It wasn't fun waking up from a flu-induced nap seeing someone outside my window. You almost got shot," she said, trying to make TC laugh. "What's the case?"

"Before we start with the case, there's something you should know. I think Internal Affairs is starting to suspect something. When I was on my way over here, Ragosa was coming into the station and he asked me if I knew if something was going on with you."

"What did you say?" Jordan asked, sitting down on the couch. "You can sit if you want. I just started to get dizzy."

TC walked over to the couch and sat down next to her, feeling her forehead. "You're burning up."

"I have a small fever."

"How small?"

Jordan shifted around and looked up at TC guiltily. "It was 101 an hour ago."

"Jesus Christ, Jordan."

"It was almost 103 last night. So I'm on the mend."

"Would you be surprised if I said I didn't believe you?" TC said.

Jordan gave him a look. "So, what's the case you need help with?"

He handed her the file for her to look over. "Look this over and tell me if you think anything looks wonky or if it looks like something shouldn't be there."

Jordan took the file and looked it over. "Well, first off, the two witness are telling two slightly different stories. Which doesn't exactly mean much. Eyewitness testimony is always a little faulty."

"Keep reading," TC said.

Jordan sniffed and turned her attention back to the file, looking at the other pages in the file. "How can every single witness statement differ so much from each other?" She looked back up at him. "What's your theory?"

"I think someone made a false report."

Jordan handed him the file. "I'd agree with you. Either that or you have witnesses who haven't witnessed anything. Go back and talk with the first two witnesses. They were the closest."

"Okay, I just wanted to make sure I wasn't crazy."

"Well, you are a little crazy."

"Oh hush," TC said, getting up. "Thanks for the help. Get better soon. Drink lots of fluids and everything. You want me to bring you some soup later?"

"If you want to. I don't want you making any special trips for me."

"You're my partner, Jordan. I miss having you around when you're not at the station. It makes my day much slower." He rubbed the back of his neck and gave her a boyish grin that was his signature trademark. "You're the best part of my days."

Jordan felt her heart skip a beat and looked away, trying to hide the blush that was rising to her cheeks. She took a few breaths to try and get her cheeks back to their normal color before she turned back to TC. "I don't know what I'd do without you in my life."

TC opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by his phone starting to ring. "It's Topher. I should probably get back to the station."

"Yeah, okay. Give me a call before you come back later. So that way you don't freak me out like you did this time."

"I can definitely do that. I'll see you later," he said, letting himself out.

Jordan watched him walk out and took a deep breath. She thought back to when Caroline was in San Antonio and what Landry said to her when she was staying at TC's place. They both said that TC loved her and that she loved TC. And while she had brushed them off when they first said it, Jordan began to think.

"Holy shit," she whispered. "I am so screwed."

She was head over heels in love with TC.

-X-

"How's Jordan feeling?" Drew asked when TC got back to the station.

"She's pushing through it. It's just the flu, nothing too major." TC sat down at his computer and started working on a report before he looked out at Kenny and Drew laughing about something. "Hey, do you think I could ask you guys something. Non-case related?"

Kenny and Drew rolled their chairs over to TC's desk. "What's on your mind, man?" Drew asked.

"Do you think…do you think something could ever happen between Jordan and me? Like, more than being partners?" TC asked, looking between the two of them.

Drew and Kenny shared a knowing look. "We had a bet going about how long it would take one of you to realize you were in love with each other," Kenny said. "Look, Drew, our boy's all grown up."

"You've had a bet going? For how long?" TC asked.

"It's been happening on and off since Jordan started working here. And it really picked up steam when the whole stalker thing happened," Drew said.

"Even Topher got in on the betting action from time to time," Kenny said, glancing at their boss' office door. "Oh, speaking of Topher, he wants to talk to you."

"Is everything okay?" TC asked, turning his attention to the office door.

"Yeah, he just had a tense meeting with Ragosa. We only heard bits and pieces from the screaming match."

"I have a feeling I know what's going on. Ragosa stopped me when I was on my way to Jordan's place." He got up and started walking to Topher's office. "Do you guys think I should go for it with Jordan?"

"I think you've waited this long to find out. Wait until she's feeling better and there's no some crazed stalker going after her. Then the two of you can talk," Drew said.

"Got it. Thanks guys," TC said, knocking on Topher's door.

"Oh good, you're back. How's Jordan feeling?"

"She's pretty sick but I think she's trying to tough it out. What's up?"

"I think someone's ratting to Ragosa about our little side operation. The entire time you were gone, he was in here yelling about mismanagement and inappropriate conducting of affairs and all sorts of Internal Affairs lingo."

"Are you saying we have to stop? Jordan's not going to be too thrilled about that."

"No, we're not stopping. But we're going to have to be a lot more careful. Nothing about the investigation ever leaves this station. Got it?"

"Got it," TC said, heading back out the door.

"Oh, and TC?" Topher said. "I think you should go for it with Jordan. But you didn't hear that from me."

"How'd you know what we were talking about?"

"I have ears everywhere."

"Thanks, Toph," TC said, smiling to himself as he walked out of Topher's office.

-X-

"You look like hell," Caroline said later that day when their Skype call connected.

"That's what happens when you have a high fever and the flu," Jordan quipped back. "How's life in DC?"

Caroline smiled. "It's great. We're looking for a new townhouse because the one we have now is going to be too small soon."

"Are you pregnant?" Jordan asked.

Caroline's smile widened and she nodded. "You're the first to find out. Don't tell Mom because I'm telling her when she comes to town next week.

"Congratulations, Caroline. I'm happy for you and Nick. Have you told Nora the big news?"

"No, Nick and I are trying to figure out the best way to do it. Got any ideas?"

"Nope. I don't have any kids so I won't have to worry about that for a long time." Jordan took a deep breath and shifted her position on the couch. "Listen, there's something I wanted to talk to you about."

"Is it about your stalker? Or about our mysterious brother? Because I have news about him."

"No, it's not about either of them. It's about TC."

"Oh my god, the two of you finally decided to hook up? How was it?"

"No, we haven't hooked up," Jordan said, sure she was starting to blush. "I think you were right."

"What was that? Did you just admit I was right? I have waited years to hear you say that."

Jordan gave her sister a look. "I don't know how this happened. Like, part of me just thinks it's because he's been so helpful with the case—"

"Jordan, I'm going to let you in on a little secret. When I first met TC, and I saw how the two of you interacted, I could sense a little spark between the two of you. I knew that somewhere down the line, something like this was going to happen."

"I don't believe you."

"I promise you, I'm not making this up. What did TC say when you told him you were in love?"

"I haven't told him yet. You're the only one who knows how I feel."

"That makes me feel special," Caroline said. "You need to tell him how you feel. And then you need to tell me next. Got it."

"Got it," Jordan said, sighing. "So, anything else you want to talk about?"

"Yes! I have news about our half-brother. I met him. Well, Nick and I met him. But he's just as shocked about this whole thing as we are."

"What was he like?"

"He's pretty chill. He just graduated from a school out in California. He's a marketing guy or something. But he looks exactly like Dad."

"Hmm, that's interesting. Now we have it all."

"What are you talking about?"

"I look like Mom, this brother guy looks like Dad and you're a combination of them both."

"Oh. Yeah, that makes sense now." Caroline looked at her phone and sighed. "I gotta go, Mom's calling. I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Okay. Congrats on having another baby."

"Thanks. Talk soon. Love you," Caroline said as the screen went black.

"Love you too," Jordan said, shutting the top of her laptop.

She heard her phone start buzzing and looked over to see TC calling her. "Hey, T. Are you on your way over here?"

"Yeah, I'm about to stop and get the soup. Any specific kind you want?"

"Chicken noodle is fine." She held the phone away from her as she started having a coughing fit. "Do you think you could get some cough drops too? I thought I had some but I guess I don't."

"Has your fever gone down at all?"

"It was up a little more when I took my temperature 20 minutes ago."

"Do you think you need to go to the hospital for an IV?"

"No, I don't need an IV. I just need some TLC."

"Okay, well, I'll be at your place in like ten minutes. Do you want anything else besides soup and cough drops?"

"No, that should be enough. Thanks, T. I know I said it earlier, but this really does mean a lot to me."

"It's not a big deal. I'll see you soon, okay?"

"Okay," Jordan said, hanging up her phone.

-X-

"You look better than the last time I saw you," TC said, after watching Jordan eat all of the soup he made her.

"Probably because I got something to eat. I don't really have a lot of food options since I just moved in. Thank god for takeout."

"I would have gotten you something at the store."

"You did get me something at the store," Jordan said. "You got me wonderful chicken noodle soup, courtesy of Campbell's, and you got me cough drops. That's all I need right now."

"Well, in that case, I'm glad I could help," TC said, leaning back in the chair in Jordan's kitchen.

She stared at him for a few minutes and sighed. "Hey, T?"

"What's on your mind?"

She opened her mouth to say something, then pressed her lips together. "It's nothing. Don't worry about it," she said, chickening out.

"You sure?"

"Yeah. It wasn't all that important."

"Okay." He looked at his phone and sighed. "I should get going. I told Topher I'd head in early tomorrow to start working on stuff."

"There's really nothing new?"

"There's nothing new. I would tell you if there was," TC said, standing up. "I'll see you around."

"Yeah, see you around. Hopefully I'll be back at work the day after tomorrow."

"Don't rush yourself getting better," TC said, kissing the top of her head without thinking. "You're still burning up."

"It's the fever," Jordan said, feeling herself start to smile.

-X-

That night, Jordan tossed and turned in her sleep, which always happened when she had something big on her mind. She rolled over in bed and grabbed her phone, seeing she had a few new text messages, mostly from Gwen telling her things she could do to get over her flu quicker.

But one message stood out in particular to Jordan. It was from an unknown number. Feeling her heart start to race, she clicked it and read the message.

FEEL BETTER SOON, MY LOVE. WE'LL SEE EACH OTHER SOON.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six: Opposites Attract**

 **Author's Note: This chapter, we get to meet a character who has been mentioned but hasn't been seen yet (and it may not be who you expect). As always, I don't own The Night Shift or any of its characters. The chapter title comes from All I Can Do by Jump5**

"You're here earlier than I thought," TC said, coming into the station on a random Monday morning to see Jordan already at her desk. "You worried about falling behind for some reason?"

"No, that's not why I'm here early," Jordan said, taking a sip from her coffee cup. "My mother is in town. Because Caroline cannot keep her big mouth shut."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that my sister told my mom I have a stalker. Now, my mom is camped out on my couch for god knows how long. I came in early so I could get away from her constant nagging."

"Sorry to hear that. Are you camping out at the station the majority of the time she's here?"

"I don't know. I haven't figured out a plan yet. For now, I'm just here to finally get some work done. I feel like I haven't done much work the last month." She looked up at TC. "How was your weekend?"

"Terrible. Landry's parents were in town and she hadn't told them we broke up. So I had to have dinner with them. And that's when Landry thought it would be a good idea to tell them."

"That sounds awful," Jordan said, trying not to laugh. "I'm assuming they didn't take it well."

"No not at all. It was exhausting."

"If you want to experience something more exhausting, you're more than welcome to come to lunch with me and my mom. She likes you for some strange reason," Jordan said, a teasing glint in her eyes.

"It's probably because of my boyish charms and good looks," TC said, getting himself a cup of coffee. "By chance, were you the one who made the coffee?"

"Of course. Drew makes it way too strong and Kenny's shouldn't even be allowed to call itself coffee," Jordan said, going back to her computer screen.

"Good. You make the best coffee."

"It's one of my god given talents," Jordan said, looking at the new batch of emails that had come in the last hour. "Oh great. I have a follow up psych eval later today. Between that and lunch with my mom, I'm bound to have a great day at work."

"Just don't start crying this time. Then everything should be just fine."

"Yeah, but she knows about the stalker. I can't exactly lie during an evaluation."

"You don't have to lie. Just say that we're taking all the necessary precautions and that the department is handling it. And be as vague as possible."

"Sounds like you're speaking from experience."

"Because I am speaking from experience. It's gotten me out of a lot trouble before."

"This doesn't surprise me," she said, clicking on another email. "So, are you taking anyone to the charity ball next week?"

"Shit, is it next week? I totally forgot. No, I guess I'm not taking anyone." He sat down at his computer and stared at it. "How formal is this thing again?"

"It's a black tie event. Gwen and I are going to pick up our dresses this weekend." She paused for a second. "My mother better be gone by then. She will hate the dress I picked."

"Gwen's going?"

"It's her and Kenny's first date. But you didn't hear that from me. He probably wants to brag about it when he comes in."

"Gwen and Kenny? When did that happen?"

"The last few weeks. I'm proud to say I played an instrumental role in getting the two of them together," Jordan said, looking up when she heard the doors to the station open. "Morning, Topher," Jordan said, smiling when he walked in. "Got any cases for me?"

"I got one late Friday night. Crime scene already processed the scene. Go see if O'Neill has results of anything then head over to the scene. Let me get the file." He started walking to his office then turned around to face Jordan again. "You have another psych eval after lunch. Make sure you're back in time for it. And for the love of all things holy, please don't start crying again. You're one of my best detectives."

"That's my hope, Toph." She got up from her chair and followed him and TC into Topher's office to get the file.

"Hey, Toph, I'm another one of your best detectives, right?" TC asked, shooting Jordan an amused look. She responded with a head shake and an eye roll.

"Oh yeah, T. An A1 detective," Topher said in a flat voice, looking for the file. He handed the file to Jordan. "Have fun."

"I'm sure we will," Jordan said, opening the file to look over the basic details. "We'll be back later," Jordan said as she started walking out of Topher's office.

"Hey, we never finished our conversation about the charity ball," TC said, following Jordan out of Topher's office. He grabbed his wallet and car keys. "I can drive."

"What else is there to talk about?"

"Are you taking anyone?" TC asked, making Jordan's heart slow down.

"No. I'm not really dating anyone right now. I figured if I can barely handle having a stalker, I shouldn't expect someone else to handle it. So I'm flying solo."

"Well, here's an idea. We should go to together."

"What?"

"We should go together. That way we're not the only people from the squad without someone there with them."

"What are you talking about?" Jordan asked, trying to wrap her head around what TC was saying.

"Topher has Janet, Drew will probably go with Rick and you said Gwen and Kenny are going together. We'd be the only ones without someone. So we should just go together. That way it won't be awkward." TC looked over at Jordan and saw the weird look on her face. "Does that work for you?"

"Yeah. That's fine."

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm just so tired. We should get over to the lab and talk to O'Neill. He's probably waiting for us." Jordan quickly got in the car and focused straight ahead of her the entire ride to the lab.

"Are you sure there's nothing going on?" TC asked when they got out of the car at the lab. "Did your stalker say you shouldn't take anyone to the charity ball?"

"No, that's not it. Not at all. It was just a little out of the blue, don't you think?" Jordan asked, turning to look at TC. "Besides, what if I said I was taking someone?"

"Then I would have to find a date. It's not that hard for me to do." The two of them walked into the lab. "O'Neill, what do you have for us?"

"Fibers from the perp's clothing," he said, pointing to one of the computer screens. "It's from a flannel that's sold at a hunting and sporting goods store." He walked them to another computer that had a fingerprint pulled up on the screen. "I'm searching to see if the fingerprint has a match in any of the databases. When I find out that information, I'll send it over with Paul." He ripped a sheet of paper off and handed it to the two of them. "This is a list of possible places were the shirt was from."

"Thanks, Josh. We'll see you around," TC said, taking the list.

"There's one more thing from an unrelated case," O'Neill said, looking at Jordan. "You know how you're place has the security camera attached to the front so we can watch to make sure nothing suspicious is going on while you're working?"

"Yeah. What about it?"

"We lost the video feed to it this morning. It could be anything as simple as a squirrel or some other rodent chewing through the wires."

"But you don't think that's what caused it, do you?"

"No. Sorry, Jordan. I was gonna head out there a little later to fix it if that's okay with you."

"Yeah, thanks. Don't be surprised if someone who looks like me comes out and harasses you. It's my mother." Jordan gave him a small smile and walked out of the lab.

TC started to follow her out but was stopped by a thought he had. "If it was the stalker who cut the feed, that means he knows Jordan lives. Which means she's not safe there."

"That's the downside. I can redo the wiring and can try to restore the video, but we're not going to be able to see who it did."

TC ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "Okay. Time for Plan B." He smiled at O'Neill and walked out of the lab.

"Can we head back to the station?" Jordan asked, shielding her eyes from the sun. "I still have so much work I have to do."

"Nope. We have to go to your place and move you out. Again."

Jordan had a confused look on her face then sighed. "Because the stalker knows where I live…" she said, trailing off. "Fuck!" She ran a hand through her hair and tried not to start crying in front of TC. "Son of a fucking bitch." She got in the car and slammed the door.

-X-

"So, am I just living with you temporarily? Because this could get a little awkward," Jordan said, setting a bag down on the couch.

"You're staying here until we catch this guy. This way, someone's got eyes on you at all times."

"Oh great, it's like I've got a babysitter," Jordan said, glaring at TC. "I'm going to be just fine by myself, T. I can defend myself."

"Jordan, whoever has been following you was able to find you at a house that's not under your name and not under anyone's name you associate with. You need someone with you at all times."

Jordan pursed her lips. "Well, what am I supposed to if Landry comes over here? Or, what am I supposed to do now since my mom's in town? What if this guy goes after my mom?"

"He's not going to go after your mom. He hasn't expressed interest in anyone other than you. Not your mom, not your sister, not Gwen. You're the object of his affections."

"That is so not what I needed," she said, looking at her watch. "I have to go to lunch with my mom. Am I going to be okay with just her there or do I need a babysitter then too?"

"I think you can handle yourself. Just try to be on alert the whole time," TC said as there was a knock on the door. "I bet that's your mom now."

"Fantastic," Jordan said, rubbing her forehead. "I'll see you later," she said, grabbing her purse off the couch.

-X-

"Um, is Jordan Alexander here?" a guy asked, coming into the station.

"She's out at lunch. Do you need to report a crime?" Drew asked. "We can take your statement."

"No, I don't have a crime. I'm her brother."

Drew, Kenny and TC shared a look. "You're the brother?" Kenny asked, looking him over.

"Well, I'm her half-brother. My dad…our dad…I just found out about this whole thing. Caroline reached out and made contact. So I thought I'd come down and meet my other sister."

The guys heard the door open and saw Jordan come in, talking to someone on the phone. "No, Mom, I'm fine. I promise. Yes, please go home. Okay, I'll drive you to the airport tonight." She licked her lips and looked around the squad room and sensed a weird vibe. "Okay, I gotta get back to work. I love you too." She hung up the phone and looked around. "What's going on guys?"

"Congratulations, Jordan. You're a big sister!" TC said. "He says he's your brother."

Jordan raised an eyebrow and turned to look at the other guy in the room. "You're my brother?" She squinted and looked closer at his face. "Caroline must have been exhausted if she thinks you look like Dad." She shook her head. "It's James, right? Sorry, I don't really have time for mushy gushy introductions and feelings right now. I have something I have to do, actually." She turned around and wrote something down on a Post-It note and handed it to him. "Meet me at this coffee shop tomorrow and we can talk then."

"Tomorrow? I was hoping—"

"Look, I'm really sorry but it's not a good time right now. Meet me there tomorrow at 11:30. I promise, I can devote as much of my attention to you as humanly possible." She set the rest of her stuff down at her desk and watched him walk out the station. She turned to the guys and sighed. "Was that bitchy?"

"No, he just showed up out the blue. You're totally in the clear," Drew said.

"Okay good. Do I look not crazy for this psych eval?"

"You look totally sane. Now go in there and kick some psychology ass," TC said, trying to give her a pep talk.

"Okay. Yeah. I got this. I totally got this." Jordan took a deep breath and walked into one of the meeting rooms and shut the door.

TC turned to Kenny and Drew and raised an eyebrow. "Did that whole exchange seem weird to you at all?"

"That her brother showed up out of blue? I guess that's what happens when you recently find out you have a whole family you didn't know about," Kenny said, shrugging. "I wouldn't worry about it too much, T. Have you seen a picture of the guy?"

"Yeah, and that guy did look like him."

"You probably think it's her stalker because of how close you are to the case," Drew said, sitting down at his desk. "I wouldn't worry unless Jordan tells us to worry."

TC looked at Jordan in one of the interrogation rooms and sighed. "Okay. We only worry when Jordan tells us to worry."

"Besides, you're just freaking out because of how much you love Jordan," Drew said, not taking his eyes off the computer screen.

"Yeah, that's probably it," TC said, absentmindedly. When he realized the guys hadn't responded, he thought back to what he said. "No, that's not what I mean."

"That's totally what you mean," Kenny said. "TC and Jordan, sittin' in a tree—"

"Don't you dare finish that or there will be hell to pay."

"Whatever you say, man," Drew said. "We both think you just go for it. What's the worst thing that could happen?"

TC shook his head and turned his attention to his computer, trying to think about work, but he couldn't get what the guys were saying out of his head.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven: More Than Just A Friend**

 **Author's Note: This is the chapter that you might have been waiting for when the romance really ramps up between TC and Jordan. I was really excited to write this chapter so I hope you enjoy it. As always, I don't own The Night Shift or any of its character. The chapter title come from All I Ask by Adele.**

"Are you excited for the charity ball tonight?" Gwen asked Jordan when they were getting ready at her place the afternoon of the charity ball. She waited for Jordan's response but it never came. She turned around and saw her friend staring at her dress with a dreamy expression on her face. "Hello, earth to Jordan," she said, snapping her fingers in front of Jordan's face.

"What?"

"Are you excited about the charity ball?" She looked at Jordan and raised an eyebrow. "What were you thinking about?"

"Nothing really." Jordan took the dress off the hanger and looked it at. "It's just been a really crazy last few days."

Gwen nodded. "How was meeting your brother?"

"Weird. All my life, it's been me and Caroline as the only Alexander kids. And then I found out I have a brother. It's just…different."

"Any news on your stalker?"

"He's been sending me more stuff lately." Jordan walked over to her bag and pulled out her phone, scrolling through her messages to show Gwen some of the stuff he'd been sending. "There's more he's sent too, but I forwarded them to TC and deleted them." She felt an involuntary shiver run down her spine. "I'm ready for this whole debacle to be over with.

Gwen walked over and hugged Jordan. "It'll be over soon enough. But tonight we're not going to think about that. Tonight, we're going to have the time of our lives." She pulled away from the hug and looked at Jordan. "Sit down in the chair over there and I'll do your makeup for you."

"Thanks, Gwen. You are the best friend a girl could ask for."

"I know. At least I try to." Gwen sat Jordan down in the chair and studied her face. "What do you want done?"

"Surprise me. But make me look good."

"That I can definitely do."

-X-

"You look amazing," Jordan heard someone say behind her when she got to the charity ball later.

She turned around and saw Scott standing there. She gave him a small smile. "You don't look half bad yourself. How have you been?"

"Not bad. I might get transferred back to Dallas, which I wouldn't necessarily complain about."

"That's good. I know you like it better there anyway." She looked over his shoulder and saw the guys from the squad walking towards the two of them. "I'll see you around."

"Jordan," he said, stopping her. "I'm glad there isn't a lot of awkwardness between us."

"Yeah, me too." She gave him another smile and walked towards the squad.

"Looks like we're going to have to find a new ADA soon," Topher said, looking at Scott as he was walking away. "Rumor has it he's headed back to Dallas."

"Good," TC said. "He hasn't exactly been my favorite person to work with. Besides, sometimes it's nice to get fresh blood in the squad room."

Jordan gave him a weird look. "That's not what you said when I started working with you guys."

"That's because I hadn't gotten the chance to realize how awesome you were," TC said, bumping shoulders with her.

"We should head to our table soon," Topher said. "I think the commissioner has this plan of starting right on time. Who knows, if we don't end up at the table when he starts speaking, our budget could be slashed."

The squad nodded and followed Topher into the ballroom. Jordan started to follow them but was held back by TC taking one of her hands. "Got a sec?" he asked, leading her in the opposite direction of the ballroom.

"Everything okay, T?"

"I just wanted you to know that there's extra security here tonight. You know, in case your stalker tries to do something tonight. There's a bunch of plain clothes officers walking around the perimeter of the hotel. So nothing's going to happen on our watch tonight."

Jordan let out a small laugh. "Plus there's like hundreds of officers in the next room. As much as I hate to say this, he's a smart guy. He's not going to pull anything to part."

"I know, but in case he would. We're prepared."

"And I appreciate that." She gave him a once over, looking for something to change the topic. "You look pretty good tonight. You clean up nicely."

"You look breathtaking tonight," TC said, unable to stop himself from saying it. "Promise me you'll save me a dance tonight."

Jordan opened her mouth to say something but was cut off by Topher coming over to where they were standing. "I wasn't kidding about getting to the table before the commissioner started talking. Come on, we're seated near the front. It wouldn't look good if you walked in during the middle of his speech."

"Okay, Toph, we'll be in soon," TC said. "I just wanted Jordan to know about the extra security around here. So she doesn't have to keep looking over her shoulder."

Topher nodded. "That's a good idea. Come on, we should get back in the ballroom." He started walking towards the ballroom, Jordan and TC following behind him.

"If you're lucky," Jordan said, whispering to TC as they walked a few steps behind Topher, "You'll get two dances tonight."

She couldn't ignore the way her heart sped up when she said that and almost missed the way TC almost noticeably gulped.

"Sounds like a plan," TC whispered back, making Jordan's heart slow down considerably than what it had just been.

Topher held the door open for the two of them. "We're at table three up front. I just realized I left something in the car so I'll be right back."

Jordan nodded and faced forward, looking at everyone who was there. Literally everyone from the San Antonio Police Department seemed to have come out to the charity ball and they had some volunteers off to the side, taking donations from people who had been invited.

She felt TC's hand brush against hers and she jerked her hand back without thinking about it. "Are you okay?" TC asked, looking at her with a worried look on his face.

"I'm fine. We should get to the table before Topher comes back and yells at us. Table three, right?" she asked, walking towards the table where the squad was sitting.

"Jordan…"

"I'm fine. I promise." She pulled out her chair at the table and sat down next to Gwen. She gave TC a look, begging him to stop talking about it.

"So, Jordan, I heard you just found out you had a brother you didn't know about," Rick said, trying to make conversation. "How's that going?"

Jordan let out a small laugh. "It's interesting. I didn't grow up with a guy in the house, so it's a bit of an adjustment for me and my older sister. But I think it's going okay."

They all heard a tapping noise and turned to the stage to see Ragosa standing there with a bunch of the other department heads and the commissioner. "Thank you everyone for coming out for the 33rd annual San Antonio Police Department Fundraiser."

Jordan decided to use this time to zone out and start thinking about everything that had been happening the last few months, especially when it came to her stalker. She took a deep breath and tried to avoid thinking about the thought that kept crossing her mind: that she was nearing the end of her rope when it came to her stalker.

She heard TC cough next to her and she turned to look at him. "You should at least look like you're interested in what Ragosa's saying. You look totally bored."

"I am totally bored though. The least they could do is feed us while the speeches are going on. Then I could eat to make it look like I'm somewhat interested in what he's saying," Jordan whispered back. "Do you know what they're serving tonight?"

"Probably some tiny portion of something. And it'll be either overcooked or undercooked. There's no happy medium when it comes to food at these things," TC whispered. He heard Ragosa stop talking and looked towards the raised platform, noticing Ragosa glaring at him and Jordan. "We've been busted."

Jordan felt a small smile start to spread across her face and she bit her lip, trying not to let Ragosa know she hadn't been listening to a word he'd been saying.

-X-

"I think I'm ready for one of those dances now," Jordan said when they'd all finished eating dinner.

TC pushed back his chair and held his hand out for Jordan to take. "The dance floor awaits us," he said in an overtly formal voice, making Jordan start laughing harder than she should have.

They got out on the dance floor as the song changed to a much slower song. "I promise I didn't plan this," Jordan said, standing on the dance floor, unsure if TC would still want to dance.

He rested his hands on her waist and, without thinking, she wrapped her arms around his neck. "It's a good thing I'm a go with the flow type of guy," he said as they started dancing in a small little square.

"Where'd you learn to dance?" Jordan asked, crinkling her nose because of how good he was.

"Natural talent," he smirked. "No, when Thad and Annie got married, my mom thought it would be a good idea for us to learn how to dance so we wouldn't embarrass ourselves."

Jordan nodded when he brought up his brother. From what Jordan had learned when she started at the department, TC and his brother were partners for a few years until Thad was killed in a shootout one night.

For a while, the two of them stayed quiet, just dancing to the rhythm of the song. Jordan looked up at TC's face and felt her breath catch in her throat. She cleared her throat and looked away, not wanting TC to think something was going on.

"TC," Jordan said, looking around the ballroom as they danced. Caroline's words from a few months ago rang in the back of her mind. _You are too much of a good girl and a rule follower_ she heard her sister's voice say. "I'm tired of being the good girl."

TC stopped moving and looked in her eyes. "You're tired of being the good girl?" he repeated. "What does that mean?"

"I mean I'm tired of standing by while there's someone out there following me around. And I'm tired of doing what everyone expects me to do. I want to surprise everyone. Just this once." She closed her eyes and exhaled. "I'm tired of being the good girl," she said again.

"So what are you saying?"

"For once I want to do something that no one would ever think I'd do." She dropped her hands from around his neck and rested them on top of his. "Let's get out of here."

"Don't you think the squad's going to notice if we both end up leaving at the same time?" he asked. _Why are you stopping her from doing what you both want_ TC thought to himself.

Jordan thought to herself for a minute. "I'm going to get a room. Meet me by the elevators in a few minutes." She smiled at him and started walking back to the table.

"Are you leaving already, Jordan?" Gwen asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Yeah, I just started feeling a little sick. I'm just gonna head back to my old place for the night," she said, picking up her purse.

"Are you sure that's safe?" Drew asked

"Maybe one of us should go with you. Just to make sure nothing's going to happen to you," Topher said.

"I'll be okay," Jordan said. "I'll see you guys on Monday," she said, walking towards the exit.

Once she closed the door on the ballroom, she took a deep breath and looked over at the front desk. She exhaled and walked over. "Hi. Is there any chance I can get a room for the night?"

"Sorry ma'am. We're all out of rooms for the night."

"Really? There's no open rooms here?"

The desk clerk turned to the computer and started typing something. "Well, there's our deluxe ambassador suite. It runs at $3700 per night."

Jordan took a deep breath and took out two credit cards. "Can you split it between these two cards?"

"Absolutely." The clerk took her cards and started processing the room.

"Are you getting the room?" TC asked, coming up to the desk. He stood next to Jordan and let his hand rest on the small of her back.

"Oh, we definitely have a room. A $3700 room." She looked over at TC to see his reaction. "That's the only room they had left."

"Well okay then."

The desk clerk came back and handed Jordan a room key. "You have a personal butler for the evening named Clark."

Jordan bit her lip to keep from laughing. "Thanks," she said, walking towards the elevator. They pushed the call button and waited.

"Last chance, Jordan," TC said, staring straight ahead.

"With how much money I just spent on a hotel room? I think I'm doing this," she said. The doors opened and a mother and a daughter stepped off the elevator.

TC and Jordan stepped in, seeing most of the buttons had been pressed. "You've got to be kidding me," TC said as the elevator went up a floor and opened the doors.

Jordan smiled to herself and slid her hand down TC's arm and their fingers immediately intertwined. The two looked at each other and smiled, TC moving closer to Jordan. "You really do look nice tonight," he said, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear.

He started to close the distance between the two of them more when the elevator opened for one last time, stopping on their floor.

Not letting go of TC's hand, Jordan led the two of them out of the elevator and stopped outside their room. She unlocked the door and walked in, TC following behind her.

The door shut and Jordan turned to face TC. "So…" she said, trailing off.

TC ran a thumb over Jordan's knuckles and gently pulled her towards him, their bodies pressed up against each other. He leaned down slightly and he kissed her, gentle at first but soon growing more passionate.

Jordan dropped her bag on the floor and broke the kiss so she could get her shoes off. "Those were too uncomfortable," she said, wrapping her arms around TC's neck as he lifted her up and carried her over to the bed.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight: Family Portrait**

 **Author's Note: Hey everyone. This chapter mainly focuses on Jordan and James getting to know each other but there is definitely some good TC and Jordan happening at different parts of the chapter, so just hang in there. As always, I don't own The Night Shift or any of its characters. The chapter title comes from Family Portrait by Pink.**

Jordan woke up the next morning to the sound of her phone vibrating against the table. She groaned and reached out, trying to get her phone off the table without actually waking up. "Hello?"

"Hey, sis, it's me. Were you still wanting to meet for coffee today?" James asked on the other line.

Jordan sniffed and ran a hand through her hair, thinking about what day it was. "Shit, I totally forgot. Are you already at the coffee shop?"

"I was just about to head out. Do we need to reschedule?"

Jordan looked around the hotel room, trying to find out what time it was. "Um, no, I don't think we need to reschedule. I'm just going to be a little late. But don't leave," Jordan said, looking around the room and seeing how trashed it was from the night before. "I'll see you later." She hung up the phone and groaned, falling back against her pillow. "I am so screwed," she whispered. She looked over and saw TC still asleep. She sighed and started tapping him on the shoulder. "T," she said. "Wake up."

He groaned and rolled over in the opposite direction. "Five more minutes," he muttered, causing Jordan to roll her eyes.

"No, I gotta go. But not before we talk."

Jordan noticed him stiffen slightly before he turned around and faced Jordan. "Where are you going?"

"James wanted to have coffee again. So I said yes. I wasn't anticipating staying overnight in a hotel after the charity ball. So I need to head back and change. I don't exactly want to show up in a ball gown." She looked down at her hands and tucked a strand of hair that was in her face behind her ear. "So…last night."

"Yeah, that was certainly interesting," TC said, sitting up in bed more. Without thinking, he reached for Jordan's hand and intertwined his fingers with hers.

Jordan looked at their intertwined hands and pulled hers away. "That can't happen again. It was so not appropriate on so many levels. You're my partner and my best friend. If Topher, or god forbid, if Ragosa found out, who knows what would happen."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying no matter how much I enjoyed everything last night, it can't happen again. I'm sorry," she squeaked as she felt tear drops start to slide down her face. She quickly wiped them away, hoping TC wouldn't see them. "I should probably get my stuff from your place and head back to my old place anyway."

"Jordan, that's a terrible idea. All of that is a terrible idea." He cupped her chin and turned her to face him. "I want you to be safe. And no matter what you say, last night did mean something."

Jordan swallowed thickly. "I hate this. I don't want things to be awkward between the two of us." She ran her hands through her hands through her hair. "What would Landry say? And, oh god, what if the stalker finds out about this? He'll come after you, T. And I don't want anything to happen to you." She felt more tears start to fall. "I have to go."

"Jordan—"

"TC," she said, looking him in the eyes. "Please don't do this right now."

-X-

"Jordan!" James said when he saw her walk into the coffee shop a little while later. "Glad you could make it."

"Sorry about having to push it back. I had some stuff come up this morning." She noticed a coffee cup sitting in front of the empty chair at the table. "Did you order me coffee?"

"Yeah, I just remembered what you got last time and thought I'd get you the same thing. Since you paid for coffee last time."

"Well, that's really sweet of you. I love vanilla coffees." She set her bag on the floor next to her chair and sat down, taking a sip of the coffee. "So, what are you doing back in San Antonio? I thought Caroline said you were living in New York City."

He took a sip of his coffee and smiled. "I do live in New York City. My marketing firm is working on a campaign down here. So I figured while I'm here, I should get to know my older sister."

"Please don't call me your older sister," Jordan said. "That still hasn't sunk in yet. But feel free to call Caroline the oldest sister. It will drive her crazy." Jordan took a sip of her coffee and took a deep breath. "You'd think with all the coffee I drink, I'd hate it. But that's not the case. Coffee is my lifeline."

"No, I totally get it. My roommate in college was a journalism major and coffee was what kept him going."

"I totally get that. I was a journalism major at one point in college."

"What changed your mind?"

"I was in a class and we started reading a book about the way that rape victims were treated in the criminal justice system and it made me so mad. And I wanted to try and change that. So as soon as I finished the book, I went in and changed my major to criminal justice. And once I graduated from college, I enrolled in the Police Academy and I've been working here in San Antonio ever since then."

"Wow, that's really cool. I wish I had a fun story as to why I wanted to work in marketing, but it just sounded the coolest." He took a sip of his coffee and leaned back in his chair. "So, what's your relationship with Caroline like?"

"A lot less complicated than it used to be. We were as different as we could be growing up. But we're pretty close now. I feel like that's how it is for most people though."

"How were you different?"

"Well, when Dad died, we had two different ways of mourning. I was only 15 and Carolyn was just a few weeks away from turning 18 and it destroyed her. She went out and partied a lot. And I didn't want my mom to have to worry about me too, so I became the good girl." She cut off when she said that, the words making her think back to what her sister had said and how last night she certainly wasn't the good girl she'd always been. "But when Caroline was in her sophomore year of college, something happened to her and she really changed. That's when we ended getting really close."

"It's really weird thinking about how the two of you had all this time with Dad. I'd only get to see him a few times a year, if that. He certainly did a good job of keeping me hidden from you all," James said. "Sorry, I guess I'm still really mad about the whole thing. I didn't even know he died until my mom told me a few months after it happened."

"I think you would have liked him. I mean, you got to spend some time with him, but it was nowhere near the amount of time that Caroline and I got. I feel kind of bad."

"No, don't feel bad. It's not like you were in control of things. I don't even know if your mom knew about me and my mom."

"I can't answer that," Jordan said, feeling her phone start to go off in her pocket. She pulled it out and saw TC was calling. She immediately hit ignore and placed her phone face down on the table, not wanting to think about TC for a little while longer.

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah, fine. I just did something a little stupid and now I might have to live with the consequences of what I did."

"Is it something serious?"

"Nothing my little brother needs to worry about. She heard it beep, meaning she had a voicemail and tried to keep a neutral face. "So, tell me a little more about yourself. Did you have any siblings growing up?"

"No, it was just me and my mom. For a little bit, my grandma lived with us after my grandpa died. She lived with us for a few months until she died."

"That's terrible," Jordan said without thinking. "Sorry, that probably wasn't the most sensitive thing to say."

"No, you're fine." James' phone started ringing and he took it out of his pocket, saw the number and sighed. "I have to take this. It's my boss, which probably means I have to head back to my hotel to work on something. Looks like we're going to have to cut this short."

"Okay, that's fine. I probably should get going anyway. I have a lot of stuff I need to take care of." She got up from her chair and hugged her brother. "Let me know next time you're here and maybe instead of staying in a hotel, you can stay with me."

"You mean that?"

"Hopefully. I have some stuff going on right now but hopefully one of the next times you're here, it'll be resolved." She smiled at him and grabbed her purse from the ground. "Good luck with whatever you're working on," she said as she started walking out of coffee shop.

She got in her car and put her keys in the ignition, getting ready to start her car when an incoming text caught her eye. She raised an eyebrow and read the text, almost dropping her phone at what it said.

I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST NIGHT.

-X-

"Thank god you're here," Jordan said, opening the door to TC's place.

"Yeah, I thought we could finish our conversation from the hotel since you walked out on me before we could really talk it over."

"No, we need to talk about something else," Jordan said, showing TC her phone. "Did you tell someone?"

He read the text message from the stalker then looked back at Jordan. "Why would I tell someone? It's no one else's business but ours."

"Sorry, I shouldn't have said it like that. I just…how did he find this out?" She ran a hand through her hair and felt tears coming to her eyes for the second time that day. "I'm just so emotionally drained from this whole thing," she said, not bothering to wipe the tears away.

TC was taken aback by seeing Jordan start crying and not care about it. In all the years they'd been partners, TC could count on one hand the number of times he'd seen her cry. "Hey, it'll be okay. We're working on catching the guy. We're all working on it."

"He's never going away," Jordan said as she started crying harder. She felt her shoulders start to collapse and she fell to the ground as she let all the emotions she'd been holding in come out. "I can't do this anymore."

TC walked over to where Jordan was and kneeled down next to her. "We're going to get him. Toph's working on it, Drew's working on it, Kenny's working on it, we have O'Neill and everyone at the lab working on it and I'm working on it. We're going to get him," TC repeated. He scooped her up in his arms and stood up.

"What are you doing?"

"You're exhausted. When was the last night you got a decent night of sleep?"

"I don't know," Jordan said, dejectedly.

"You're going to get sleep," TC said, carrying her back to his room. "You're going to take a nap and you're going to actually sleep. I'm holding onto your phone and I'm going to take it down to tech and they're going to look into everything."

Jordan nodded and shifted in his arms, trying to get slightly more comfortable. "Thanks, T," she said, already feeling like sleep was coming to her.

TC carried her back to his room and laid her down in the bed, pulling the comforter up around her, hoping she was going to be comfortable sleeping in what she was wearing.

"T," she muttered, moving to her side. "The last night of good sleep I got was last night." She swallowed thickly. "Would you…never mind."

Knowing what Jordan wanted to ask, he walked back into his room and laid down next to her on the bed. "Go to bed," he whispered, wrapping his arms around her as he pulled her closer to him.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine: Can I Open My Eyes**

 **Author's Note: Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, alerted and favorited the story so far! It really means a lot to me. As always, I don't own The Night Shift or any of its characters. The chapter title comes from Cry by Kelly Clarkson.**

Jordan walked into the station the Monday after the charity ball with a feeling of slight dread. TC and Jordan hadn't talked much after she broke down Saturday afternoon and Sunday the two of them kept missing each other.

So she had no idea what was going to happen when the two of them came face to face for a shift.

"Hey, J," Drew said when she walked into the squad room. "How was the rest of your weekend?"

"Anti-climactic. Except for a new message from the stalker. Did the results from the tech people come in yet?"

"No, I haven't seen anything yet. Tech's probably going to send it to T's email."

Jordan nodded and sat down at her desk, turning on her computer. "I meant to ask this Friday but the night got away from me. How long is Rick in town?"

"He heads back to Fort Benning tonight. We got our signals crossed, so now I'm going to have a random day off tomorrow with nothing to do."

"I'll cover for you today." Jordan said, tapping her nails on her desk, waiting for the screen to load. "God knows you all have covered for me enough these last few months."

"Are you being serious right now?"

"Absolutely. Get out of here. Have a great last day with your husband. I'll fill Topher in on everything," Jordan said, smiling at him.

"Thanks, Jordan, you're the best!" Drew said, getting up from his desk.

"That's what I try for," she said, clicking on her email to see if anything important had come through over the weekend. She saw one from an unknown address, frowned and clicked on it. The email opened slowly and once it opened, Jordan jumped when she saw what was in the email.

It was pictures of her getting ready for the charity ball and pictures of her from the ball and pictures of her while she was there and, worst of all, pictures of her and TC heading to the elevator to go to their room.

IT WOULD BE A PITY IF YOUR BOSS SAW THESE… the message said.

Jordan felt her stomach twist in knots and she felt like she was going to throw up. No matter how much she wanted to forget about that night, fate clearly wasn't going let that happen.

"You left early this morning," TC said, coming into the station. He took one look at Jordan's pale face and felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. "What's wrong?"

Jordan twisted her computer screen to face him as much as she could. TC walked around the desks and stood over Jordan's shoulder, looking at what was on the computer screen. "That's impossible."

"I'm beginning to think that nothing's impossible when it comes to my stalker," she said, turning around to look at him. She hadn't realized how close he was standing behind her and almost ran into him. "Sorry…" she trailed off, looking into his eyes.

"You're fine," he said.

The two of them stared at each other for a few minutes before they heard footsteps walking towards the squad room. TC stood up and went over to his desk, logging on to his computer as he normally did so whoever was about to walk into the room wouldn't suspect anything almost happened.

"Good morning you two," Kenny said, walking into the squad room with a happy look on his face. "How was your weekend?"

"Fine," Jordan said, turning back to her computer as TC nodded in agreement. She heard a soft ping come from her computer speakers and looked, seeing she had a new IM message from TC.

T. Callahan: how are we handling this?

Jordan sighed and looked over to where Kenny was sitting with a goofy smile on his face. She turned back to her computer and tried to figure out what to type.

T. Callahan: it's all up to you

J. Alexander: we bring it up only when we need it. It was only one night after all

She started tapping her nails on the desk, hoping something would happen that would diffuse the tension that was between the two of them.

"Is there something going on between the two of you?" Kenny asked, giving them a weird look.

Jordan opened her mouth to answer him when Topher came out from his office. "We have a new case coming in. Happened overnight on the north end of town. Three victims, two of which are dead. Gwen's got them in the morgue. Where's Drew?" Topher asked, looking around.

"He said Rick was leaving tonight instead of tomorrow so I said I'd cover for him. Especially since everyone's been covering for me lately."

Topher nodded. "Okay. Jordan, you head to the morgue and get details from Gwen. When you're done with that, go get the third victim's statement. She should still be in the hospital. If she's not, let me know and I'll figure out if Internal Affairs set her up with a place to stay while the crime scene is still being investigated. Kenny, T, the two of you are going to head to the crime scene and check it out. I'll text you the address while you're on the road. Meanwhile," he said, "Just a head's up, but I think IA is starting to figure out that we're doing some sleuthing off the clock. If you are stopped by Ragosa or anyone else, try to avoid anything specifically related to Jordan's case. Got it?" he asked, looking around at the three of them.

"I'll make sure Drew knows the same thing," Kenny said.

"Good," Topher said. "Anything else anyone has to share about anything?"

TC and Jordan shared a brief look and shook their heads. "Nothing else to report here, Toph," TC said.

-X-

"So, what happened when you and TC were dancing Friday night?" Gwen asked Jordan, pulling the sheet over the second victim's body. "The two of you got out of there real fast."

"Nothing happened," Jordan said, coughing slightly. "I was just really tired and got a weird feeling from being there. So I went back home. I didn't even know TC left when I did."

Gwen gave her a knowing look. "I didn't say anything about TC leaving right after you did. Which means you know something you're not letting on."

"All I know is that I have a case I have to solve. And standing here, talking with you, isn't going to make this case any easier to solve." Jordan fished from something in the pocket of her pants and pulled out a sheet of paper with the third victim's name on it. "Do you know if she's still checked into the hospital?"

She handed the sheet of paper to Gwen, who went over to the computer a few feet away, clicked on something and started typing. "It looks like she's still here. Do you need to know about surgeries or anything?"

"Nope, just needed to know she was here." Jordan tucked the sheet back in her pocket and sighed. "I'm sorry I can't tell you more about what happened Friday night. But you never know what's lurking around here."

"Does that mean something happened?" Gwen asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It means it's really not a good time to tell you what's going on. I'll see you later."

"Here, I'll walk you out. I was on my way to a meeting upstairs anyway." Gwen said, following Jordan out of the morgue. "Good things might be coming my way in the future."

"Oh, that's a little mysterious. Care to tell me more?" Jordan asked, hitting the up button for the elevator.

"I'm having a meeting to discuss the plans for what's going to happen when the Chief Medical Examiner retires in a few months. Because, of course, being Deputy Chief Medical Examiner means I have a chance at a promotion," Gwen said, stepping into the elevator.

"Really? Gwen, that's great!" Jordan said, hitting the button for the floor they needed as she watched the doors close. "I didn't even know Montgomery was retiring."

"Because it's not official yet. So don't tell anyone. I don't want anything to ruin this chance."

"My lips are sealed," Jordan said as the doors open. "But as soon as it happens, we're having a girl's night. Out on the town and everything."

Gwen smiled at Jordan and headed in the opposite direction. "I'll see you around, Jordan. Good luck with the case; you're going to need it."

Jordan nodded in agreement and walked over to the nurses' station, seeing her favorite nurse was working. "Mollie, got any information for me on Amy Perkins?"

"I wish I had some good news. That poor girl just got rushed into surgery again. One of her lungs that we thought was stable wasn't and it collapsed. The doctors took her up about ten minutes ago."

Jordan sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "Any chance I can wait around until she's out of surgery and conscious?"

"It's going to be awhile, sweetheart. Head back to the station and I'll leave a note for one of the nurses to call you when she wakes up if I'm not here."

"That's what I thought you were going to say. Thanks, Mollie." She started walking out of the hospital and pulled out her phone, calling TC or Kenny to see if they needed help at the crime scene.

"Hey, what's up?" TC asked.

"The third victim just went into surgery. Mollie said it's going to be awhile. Do you guys need any help at the crime scene?"

"Yeah, actually, that would be great. How fast can you be here?"

"That would depend where exactly you are."

"293 Booker Lane. It's right near city limit."

Jordan looked at her watch. "I can be there in about 20 minutes. You need me to bring anything?"

"Nope, just your best detective's hat. This case is going to be a doozy."

"Great," Jordan sighed. "Okay, I'll see you guys soon."

-X-

"You weren't kidding," Jordan said, stepping into what remained of a house where the crime scene was. "What happened?" She looked around at the rubble all over the floors and burn marks on what remained of the walls.

"It's gotta be a meth lab explosion. Gwen say anything about a toxicology report?" Kenny asked.

"She hadn't gotten the test results back yet on either of the girls," Jordan said, taking a look around at the house. "But just because whoever was staying here was making meth doesn't mean they were doing it. The test results wouldn't mean much. A decent defense lawyer would say it was from not wearing a mask and breathing in the flames."

"But that's exactly what we're going to try and prove didn't happen," another voice said behind the three of them.

They turned around to see Scott standing there with someone else standing next to him. "This is Kristen Alvarez, a law student at UT's San Antonio branch. She's shadowing. Kristen, these are detectives Fournette, Alexander and Callahan." The three of them nodded in acknowledgment. "So, do we think the two women were blown up when the lab exploded?"

"I don't think that's the case," Jordan said. "I just got back from the morgue. Neither of the dead victims had any burn marks or any of the identifying markers. I haven't seen the third victim because she had to go back to surgery."

"Well, I don't want to rule anything out. Mind if Kristen and I take a look around too?"

"Be my guest," TC said. "Jordan, can I get your help with something over here?" TC asked, walking towards the back of the house. He pulled out something from his pocket and handed it to her. "From tech. Kenny and I stopped on our way over here."

"Did you open it?" Jordan said, taking out the papers from the envelope.

"No, I thought you'd want to be the first one to look at it."

Jordan nodded and skimmed the results. "That's weird," she said, handing TC the results from tech. "The triangulation showed that whoever sent the text was at the coffee shop when I was there with James." Her face turned white and she started having trouble breathing. "I…I…he's following me now, T."

-X-

Back at the station, Jordan and TC sat in the chairs in front of Topher's office, waiting for him to get back from a meeting with the chief of police and some of the members of Internal Affairs. "I am so screwed," Jordan said, running her hands through her hair.

"It won't be that bad. Ragosa likes you. He won't fire you or anything."

"That's not what I'm worried about. This guy is following me, T. He knows stuff about the two of us and probably knows a lot more than he's letting on. And now the case is out of our hands."

The office door opened and Topher came in with the chief of police. "T, can you give us a moment alone with Jordan?"

"Yeah." He started to get up and squeezed Jordan's hand. "I'll just be outside."

She nodded and took a deep breath, watching Topher and Chief Adkins walk further into the office. Topher sat down on the other side of the desk and Chief Adkins stood behind him.

"How much trouble am I in right now?"

"Trouble?" Chief Adkins asked. "You're not in trouble, per se. It just would have been nice if we'd known about this when it started happening. We could have prevented this much of an escalation."

Jordan nodded. "Everyone here has everything he's sent me. And as soon as there's something new, I'll turn it in."

"That won't be necessary. You're getting a new hard drive and a new work and personal phone. We're going to find who's doing this and we're going to get the guy before anything serious can happen."

"Until then," Topher said. "You're going to have a guard standing guard outside your place at all times. You'll have to give him a list of approved visitors of course, so no one can get in without your permission."

"A guard?" Jordan asked, an incredulous laugh escaping. "You can't be serious." She saw the looks on their faces and leaned back against her chair. "Okay. A guard. Anything else?"

"If something else comes up, we'll be sure to let you know of any changes," Chief Adkins said. "If you'll excuse me, I have some other business I have to take care." He walked to the door, gripped the handle and turned around to face Jordan. "We'll get the guy, Jordan. Don't you worry."

"Thanks, Chief."


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten: Locked Inside My Heart**

 **Author's Note: So this chapter is a little different, because it's taking place with Gwen and Jordan having a girl's night and the guy's having a sports night and the two don't interact with each other. As always, I don't own The Night Shift or any of its characters. The chapter title comes from Eye of the Needle by Sia.**

"Have you gotten used to having a guard outside your place at all times?" Gwen asked Jordan around a month later.

Jordan rolled her eyes and glanced at the door. "I mean, there's worse things that could be happening, but it's not my favorite thing in the world. I wish he'd leave sometimes. Or at least be a little personable." She grabbed a bag of popcorn from one of the cupboards in the kitchen and unwrapped the plastic. "Why don't you pick out a movie and put it in. I'll be in with the bowl of popcorn when it's ready."

"Do you officially have all of your movies back from your brief stints in random places all over San Antonio?" Gwen asked, looking at the selection on one of the shelves in the living room.

"Hopefully. I think I might have left a few of them at T's place, but I can get them back anytime, really." She heard her phone beep and looked at it, feeling a smile start to creep across her face when she saw who sent it. She set the popcorn in the microwave and started it, grabbing her phone to respond.

"What's that look?" Gwen asked, leaning against the wall.

"None of your concern. Did you pick a movie?"

"The quintessential chick flick, _The Notebook_ ," Gwen said, holding up the DVD case. "But really, who's texting you and giving you that girly smile on your face?"

"It's none of your concern." She put her phone in the pocket of her sweatpants and stared at the microwave, waiting for the time to run out. "How are things with you and Kenny?"

"Nice deflection there, Jor."

"I'm just curious."

"Things with Kenny and I are just fine. We've got a date Friday night. He's taking me to one of the concerts in the park and then we're getting drinks at that new club that opened downtown."

"Sounds fun." She took the popcorn out of the microwave, shook the bag and dumped it into the bowl. "Have you told him about…" Jordan asked, trailing off.

"Nope. All he knows is that I got divorced last summer before I moved down here. And that's all he needs to know about until I'm ready to tell him."

"My lips are sealed," Jordan said, laying a hand over top of her best friend's. "You grab the popcorn and I'll grab the wine," she said.

-X-

"Once the game starts," Topher said as he started shuffling the deck of cards, "Phones go away and no one leaves the table except to go to the bathroom or refill the chips and pretzel bowls. I ordered pizza and it should be here in 20 minutes." He began dealing the cards to the guys and sat back in his chair. "Callahan, I said no phones at the table."

TC looked up from the message he was trying to send with a sheepish look on his face. "Sorry, Toph. Just trying to take care of some last minute things. My attention is fully on the game." He looked at his cards, then looked around the table to see if anyone was giving anything away about the hand they'd been dealt. "I have another rule to add to this game. No talk about work."

"I second that rule," Kenny said, looking up from his cards. "We get enough of that at the station. This is time for relaxation and forgetting about everything that's been happening at the station."

The four of them nodded their heads. Ever since Jordan's case had been taken over by the police department, they'd been kept out of the loop of almost everything. The only time they'd get any information was when they told Jordan what was going on. And as much as they'd hoped that there would be lots of incoming information, there wasn't as much as they were hoping for.

"Alright, here's the first three cards," Topher said, taking them off the top of the pile and laid them out on the table. An ace of diamonds, nine of clubs and the queen of spades stared back at them.

TC started at his cards, trying to figure out what he wanted to do next. He still had a fairly decent hand, but the guys around the table had gotten a lot better at hiding their emotions, unlike when they'd first started doing poker night.

"So, who do we think is going to win the game tonight? San Antonio's been on a hot streak lately," Drew said, putting down one of his cards. "I'll take one."

"Yeah, but so has Los Angeles. I think it's going to be a good matchup," Kenny said.

"You act like you know so much about basketball when we all know you're a football guy through and through," Topher said, taking two new cards for himself. "It's probably a good idea to stick to the sport you know best."

"Toph's got a point there, Kenny. You creamed us in the football pool we had at the station," TC said, anteing up.

"But Jordan won the pool. Based on the highly scientific process of picking the teams with the better colors."

"Hey, whatever works," Topher said, matching TC's bet.

"Toph, where's Janet and the kids tonight? They didn't want to sit around and watch the game with us?"

"No, not after the last time that Lynn heard TC start swearing and thought it would be cool to imitate him. So instead, the four of them are getting dinner with her sister and her kids and going to the movies. Hopefully by the time they get back, the kids will be tired enough to not hear anything from us watching the game."

-X-

"So, does it bother you that the guys are over at Topher's place and you weren't invited?" Gwen asked, turning her attention away from the movie.

Jordan looked up from her phone with her nose crinkled. "I was invited over. But playing poker, watching a basketball game and drinking beer is not how I want to spend my Saturday night. It's a mutual understanding that the guys invite me over and I always politely decline."

"Well, as long as there's that understanding." Gwen turned her attention back to the movie but got distracted by a faint light coming from where Jordan was sitting. "Pay attention to the movie."

"I've seen this movie a thousand times, Gwen. I know what's going to happen. I really don't want to cry at this part."

"Who have you been texting this entire night? I know something's going on."

Jordan sighed and tucked her phone away. "I've been talking to this guy the last few weeks—"

"Oh my god! Is that who you were with when I called you a few nights ago and you ignored my call?"

"I didn't ignore your call. I was a little busy," Jordan said, ducking her head so Gwen wouldn't see the blush rising in her cheeks. "But yeah, that's who I was with."

"Jordan, this is big, this is huge! Who is it? Is it someone I know?"

"Gwen, I'm not telling you anything else. I don't want to jinx anything that might happen in the future. I don't exactly have the best luck when it comes to dating."

"Fine, fine. I won't pry that much right now." She turned back to the movie and paid attention to it for a few minutes before turning back to Jordan. "Is the sex any good?"

"Way to be blunt," Jordan said, grabbing one of the pillows on the couch to throw at her. "I'm not telling you anything else. I've already said too much." She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "Besides, I don't want certain people finding out."

"Your stalker isn't going to go after the guy you're dating," Gwen said.

Jordan thought back to the pictures that she was emailed after her and TC slept together at the charity ball. "You never know that."

"Jordan, nothing's going to happen. Besides, there's tons of people who are here to make sure nothing happens to you. And they're working around the clock. Sooner or later, there's going to be a break in the case and everything is going to work itself out. Stop worrying and enjoy the fact that you're finally getting laid."

Jordan rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to the movie. "Sometimes I wonder why I've put up with you all these years."

"It's because you know I speak the truth," Gwen said, throwing the pillow back at Jordan.

Jordan watched Gwen out of the corner of her eye, made sure her attention was on the movie before pulling out her phone to send another text to the guy.

"Am I going to have to take your phone away from you?" Gwen said, not taking her eyes off the screen.

"Sorry. Last one for now, I promise." She hit send on the message and put it on the armrest of the couch.

-X-

"That must be the pizza," Topher said when the doorbell rang. After they quickly finished the first two pizzas he ordered, they decided to order a few more for when the game started. "Does anyone have some money for the tip?" The guys reached for their wallets, each of them taking out a single. They handed him the money and he went to the door.

TC took the opportunity to check his phone, which he'd been feeling going off for a while now. He looked at them closely, making sure there was a frantic message from Landry. Ever since the baby had started kicking, he'd been getting messages from her, telling him how freaked out she was.

"Phone away!" Topher said.

"Sorry, Toph," TC said, sliding the phone back in his pocket. "Just wanted to make everything with Landry and the baby were okay."

"Have things between the two of you settled down any?" Drew asked.

"Define settled down. We're civil. I guess that's what matters," TC said, rubbing his neck. "I just wish she wanted to find out the sex of the baby. It's driving me crazy not knowing. I don't understand someone who needs to be in control of everything like Landry does can stand not knowing."

"We didn't find out the sex of the kids when Janet was pregnant," Topher said. "We both wanted to be surprised. Which isn't as big of a deal as people make it out to be. The pain is trying to get outfits. There's only so much yellow you can buy before you go insane."

"Who even decided that yellow was the neutral color? Shouldn't it just be white or black?" Kenny asked.

"No one would want to dress their kid in all white or in all black. Yellow's a nice neutral color because it's a happy color," Topher said. He turned towards TC. "So, are you and Landry going to get back together?"

"I don't think so. I mean, we were both kind of miserable when we were together. Plus, I think she's still with that Pete guy or whatever. Besides, if Landry and I got back together, the kid would look at how much of a fucked up relationship its parents have and be screwed up for years to come. I don't want that to happen."

"I think that may be the most grown up thing I've ever heard you say," Drew said, clapping him on the back. "You're finally growing up."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever," TC said, thinking back to the messages on his phone. "Toph, is the bathroom down here still getting work done on it?"

"Nope, feel free to use it. We'll have the game on when you come out," he said, opening the pizza boxes and setting them on the coffee table.

TC nodded and walked to the bathroom, locking the door to get a chance to read through the messages on his phone.

-X-

"Are you sure you don't want to stay overnight?" Jordan asked when the movie finished. "We can stay up all night and do each other's hair and nails. It'll be like college all over again."

"As tempting as that sounds, I have to be up early tomorrow morning. Being the Chief Medical Examiner means I have much longer hours to work now. And I don't want to be late for my first official shift."

"Okay. Have a great first day of being the boss," Jordan said, giving her a hug. "We'll have to do this again sometime. And I promise I won't be as distracted as I was tonight."

"No, you're fine. You're in the beginning stages of love. I won't deny you the right to text the guy over and over again."

"Oh thanks, you're so kind," Jordan said, rolling her eyes. "I'll see you around."

"See you. Have a fun night with the rest of that bottle of wine. You deserve to drink the rest of it." Gwen winked at her and left.

Jordan let out a content sigh when Gwen left. She picked up her phone, dialed a number and waited for the person on the other line to pick up. "Hey, Gwen just left so I thought I'd give you a call and I wanted to know if you wanted to get breakfast tomorrow. Let me know." She hung up the phone, sat back down on the couch and decided to listen to what Gwen had said.

She was going to finish the bottle of wine and not feel bad about it.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven: But It's You**

 **Author's Note: So this is a pretty big chapter but that's all you'll be getting from me. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, alerted and favorited the story so far. It really does mean a lot to me. As always, I don't own The Night Shift or any of its characters. The chapter titles comes from Slow by Grouplove.**

"You're here early. Normally I'm the first one in on Wednesdays," Topher said, walking into the police station, seeing Jordan already at her desk with a half drunk cup of coffee sitting next to her. "How long have you been here?"

Jordan looked at the clock and sighed. "I got in at six. There's supposed to be a big storm tonight and I made plans with someone and I really wanted to get out on time tonight. I hope that's okay."

Topher looked at his watch. "You've been working for an hour and a half?"

"Yeah. I was planning on working through lunch too." She turned back to her computer and pulled up the weather report. "Look how bad it's going to be at five."

"Yeah, that does look bad." He thought to himself. "You've gone over your allotted overtime hours for the week already, haven't you?"

"Because I knew I wouldn't be able to stay late today. I played this whole thing to my advantage."

"I'm seeing that. Fine, you can leave at 3:30. You're not working through lunch. Got it?"

"Yes sir," she said, turning back to her computer.

"I hope whatever you're doing tonight is going to be much better than hunkering down here at the station and waiting for calls to come in," Topher said, heading into his office.

Jordan chuckled to herself. "Oh, I'm sure it will be so much better."

She heard someone come into the squad room and looked up to see TC come in. "You look like hell."

"I feel like it," he said, going straight to the coffee pot. "When was this made?"

"I made it at six when I got here."

"Six? Jesus, why were you here so early?"

"I have plans tonight. I wanted to get out of here before the super storm hits. Topher said I get to leave at 3:30. Maybe if you talk to him about getting out of here early, he'll let you too."

TC shrugged. "If I get out of here early that means I'm baby shopping with Landry. Do you realize how expensive baby stuff is? Let alone for one place."

"Why does it matter how much both of the sets are?" Jordan raised an eyebrow. "Are you buying both sets for her?"

"Yeah. Why do you think I've been taking so many overtime shifts?"

"That really sucks," Jordan said without thinking. "Sorry. I probably shouldn't have said that."

"No, it's fine. I know what you mean. Luckily, my parents are pitching in a little money too. That'll help some."

"Will you let me know if you need something? I wouldn't mind helping out."

"No, you've got enough on your plate right now. Any updates on your stalker?"

"No and I probably won't get one for a few more days since the storm is happening. Which is okay and all. I just wish I could get one before the storm starts. It's the calm before the storm right now."

"It's anything but calm outside. I went to the grocery store earlier to try and stock up on a few things and there's hardly anything left. Even those nasty off brand cereals are gone. I didn't even think that was possible."

"Desperate times call for desperate measures. I'm just glad I'm leaving early and reached my overtime limit tonight. I don't want to deal with the aftermath of everything until I absolutely have to."

"No way, you're leaving early tonight?" Kenny asked, coming into the squad room. "I got here early so I could try and get out early."

"I've been here since six, boys," Jordan said, leaning back in her chair. "Toph's only going to let one more member of the squad leave early."

Kenny and TC stared at each other briefly before they went running to Topher's office, hoping to be the first one in there to talk to him. Jordan watched with an amused look on her face and she shook her head as she turned her attention back to her computer screen. "Idiots."

"Thank goodness someone's here," Gwen said, coming into station. "Is Topher here?"

"Yeah, he's having a conversation with Kenny and T to figure out which one of them gets to leave early before the storm hits."

"Do you have any plans for the storm?"

"Actually, I do. I was supposed to meet someone for dinner, but I don't think that's going to happen anymore. So I might text him and ask if he wants to meet at my place and I'll cook for him."

"Is this the mystery guy from when we had movie night a few weeks ago?"

"Yes, it's the mystery guy. And, before you ask, no you don't get to find out who it is. Not yet."

"You do realize you're killing me with not telling me, right?"

"Yes. It's a very fun game I'm playing." She heard the door to Topher's office open and turned around to see if she could tell who was getting out early. Based on the triumphant look on TC's face, she assumed he was getting out early. "You can probably go talk to Topher now," she told Gwen.

"This conversation isn't over," Gwen said as she started walking to Topher's desk.

"What were the two of you talking about? It looked fairly intense."

"It's nothing major. Just me and Gwen being…well, being me and Gwen." She started typing something and turned her attention back to TC. "So, why are you so excited about leaving early?"

"Toph said if I work through lunch, I can leave at four. That gives me some time to get back to my place and take a nap before Landry calls and wants to go out in the storm and find something else for the baby."

"Well aren't you lucky," Jordan said, going back to her computer.

"Alright, I need your attention," Topher said, leading Gwen out of his office. "Do you all remember the case from about a month ago? With the meth lab explosion and the three girls died?" He waited for them to remember the case. "Turns out you were right, Jordan. The three of them weren't a part of everything that was happening at the house."

"I just got all the final autopsy results back," Gwen said, handing each of them the reports. "All of the victims didn't live anywhere near the house. They all came from different backgrounds and different parts of San Antonio. But the weirdest part about the whole thing is that they didn't die where they were found."

"We have a second crime scene we knew nothing about until a month later? It's going to be so hard to find the evidence," TC said, skimming the report.

"That's not even the worst part," Gwen said. "They all died at different times. And I'm not just talking minutes apart. I'm talking months. "The first victim, Victoria Lance, had been dead for two months. The second victim, Janine Colon, had been dead for a month. And, of course, Amy Perkins never made it out of surgery." She closed the file. "I'm not going to tell you all how to do your job or pretend I know anything about what you do, but I think you have a spree killer on the loose. And with all of San Antonio being in pandemonium tonight, I wouldn't be surprised if there was another killing tonight."

"So here's what we're going to do," Topher said. "I alerted the Chief and he's sending a memo out to all the different stations in the greater San Antonio area. There's a manhunt getting underway. Drew's meeting us at our location. Keep an eye on the time. T, Jordan, you guys can leave when I told you to, but be on alert when your shifts are up. I'm heading over to Internal Affairs to help put together a profile. One of you are going to check in every hour. If I hear anything about a suspect being apprehended, I'll let you know."

"So much for the calm before the storm," Jordan muttered to herself. She grabbed her raincoat and headed out to the lobby area.

-X-

"Anything suspicious where you're at?" Jordan said into her walkie talkie, looking around one of the grocery stores in their assigned area.

"Nothing here at the bank," TC said. "It's just a normal day for everyone here."

"There's something going down at the courthouse," Drew said. "I can't quite hear what's going on though."

"Have we heard anything from Topher? We should probably let him know what's going on. I got it," Kenny said. "Hold on. You guys, check your phones."

Jordan grabbed her phone from her pocket and skimmed the text from Topher. "It's over? Just like that?"

"Are you really complaining?" TC said. "There's not much time left in the day now. Better than sitting around the station and preparing for something that may or may not happen. Meteorologists are wrong all the time."

Jordan looked at her watch and smiled to herself. It was just a little past three, which means when she got back to the station, she wouldn't have much left to do for the day. "I'm headed back to the station. I'll see you guys there. Glad this was able to be stopped before anything else could've happened." She turned off the speaker of the walkie talkie and walked outside to where there was a mobile unit set up outside. "Here's this back," she said, setting it down on the table. "Anything else you need from me?"

"Nope, you're good."

"Great," she said as she started walking towards her car. She got in and checked her phone, making sure she wasn't missing anything important from anyone.

-X-

"Is it really time for you to leave? You sure you don't want to stay and help us out for a bit?" Kenny asked, looking up when Jordan started getting ready to leave.

"I've a got a date tonight, boys."

"Another date? You've been having a lot of them lately," Kenny said.

Jordan gave him a weird look. "Well, this whole stalker is getting under control. Or at least I think it is. Besides, I've never commented on any of your dating lives." She looked around her desk one last time, making sure she had everything she needed. "See you guys tomorrow."

Kenny and Drew waited until Jordan was out of ear shot before they wheeled their chairs over to TC's desk. "Any clue who she's got a date with tonight?" Drew asked.

"Why do the two of you care?" TC asked, looking up from reading a file. "The last time I checked, you're both in relationships."

"Yeah, but you're nursing a little crush on Jordan," Kenny said. "And now she's going out with someone. You might have missed your chance."

TC chuckled to himself. "Guys, Jordan's my best friend. Trust me, if something was going to happen with me and Jordan, it probably would have happened already. We're just friends."

-X-

As soon as Jordan got home, she got a few things ready before her date came over for the evening. Once she got that done, she looked around and sighed, feeling like she was forgetting to do something. She looked at her watch and sighed again. He'd be over in ten minutes and she still had to get changed from what she wore to work.

Once she got ready, she checked her phone, making sure he wasn't canceling on her because of the storm.

She heard someone knock on the door and she took a deep breath before walking over to answer it. She gripped the doorknob and took another deep breath, bracing herself for what was on the other side. She opened the door and smiled. "Hey," she said, smiling and feeling a little more relaxed than she just was.

"Hey," TC said, shuffling slightly.

"Come on in," she said, stepping to the side. She waited until he was completely inside before shutting the door. She stared at the closed door for a second before turning around. "I'm glad you came over," she said, pushing herself off the door as she walked towards where he was standing. She let her hands rest on his chest as she stretched up slightly and kissed him.

"I'm glad I'm here too," he whispered, breaking the kiss slightly. "So," he asked, taking her hands in his. "Are we eating now or later?"

"I guess it depends on if Landry calls you and wants you to help with stuff for the baby…why are you looking at me like that?" Jordan asked, noticing TC trying to hold in his laughter.

"Because I said that so no one would catch on to the two of us. She's nowhere near San Antonio right now. You are so gullible," he said, tapping her on the nose.

"I'm not that gullible. I was just really tired. I have been up since 4:30 this morning. I wanted to make sure that this would happen."

"This was always in my plan. I wasn't going to let tonight be a cancelation. In fact," he said, dropping his voice. "I have big plans for tonight."

"Do you now?" Jordan asked, taking a step back and raising an eyebrow. "What might those plans be?"

"I guess you'll have to wait and see," TC said, pulling her closer to him so he could kiss her again.

-X-

"We're going to have to start telling people soon," Jordan said, looking up at TC as they were curled together on the couch. "Because, to me, this isn't going away. This is real," Jordan said, taking one of his hands in hers, their fingers intertwining.

"That's what I've been saying this whole time." He lifted their hands and kissed her knuckles. "I love you."

"I love you," Jordan said, not having to think about it. She smiled at him and pushed him down on the couch and started kissing him, her legs going on either side of him. "I love you so much."


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve: Let Me Down Gently**

 **Author's Note: This chapter starts to really get into the relationship between TC and Jordan. As always, I don't own The Night Shift or any of its characters. The chapter title comes from Water Under The Bridge.**

"So, today's the day," Jordan said. "We're going to tell everyone we work with that we're dating." She started tapping her nails on the kitchen table while TC made them breakfast. "We're really doing this."

TC looked over his shoulder and raised an eyebrow at Jordan. "Are you already second guessing this?"

"Which this? The two of us dating or when tell people at work. Because that's what I'm most nervous about." She got up from her chair and walked over to the stove, wrapping her arms around TC's midsection. "I'm not second guessing us."

"Well that's good." He scooped a pile of eggs onto their plates and turned around, kissing Jordan as he picked up the plates. "Let's eat."

"This is a special occasion for me, you know," she said, taking one of the plates. "I don't usually eat breakfast."

"Really? Do you at least play into the stereotype of cops eating donuts all the time?"

"I can't even tell you the last time I had a donut."

"That is a damn shame," TC said, shoveling the food into his mouth. "Maybe I'll buy you a donut later today. It'll be your reward for being brave and telling everyone that we're together."

"You don't really need to buy me a donut. Especially for something so silly as telling our shared coworkers that we're dating." Jordan swallowed and took a breath. "This is going to give me a panic attack."

"You're not going to have a panic attack."

"I could. You never know. I used to get panic attacks over the smallest things."

"You're not going to have a panic attack," TC said again, laying his hand over top of Jordan's.

"It's your fault if I do," Jordan muttered under her breath.

"Fine, I'll take all the blame if you have a panic attack," TC said, smiling. "Now eat before we're late to work."

-X-

"So, how are we doing this?" Jordan asked, getting out of her car when they got to the station.

"Let's just face the inevitable," TC said, taking her hand. "We'll go in, say we're dating and go from there. No need to make a big fuss about it."

Jordan nodded and took a deep breath. "Okay. Let's head in and get this over with." She looked over at him and smiled. "At least we won't have to lie to everyone anymore."

"That's the spirit," he said, squeezing her hand as they walked into the building.

They opened the doors to the squad room once they got to their squad room and TC cleared his throat. "Attention everyone. Jordan and I are dating. It's been a month and I love her. That's all." He walked to his desk and started getting ready for the day while Jordan just stared at him.

"So that's who you were trying to text when we had guys' night poker game!" Kenny said. "I knew it had to be someone important. You're never really one to try and text during the game."

"I thought something was off between the two of you," Drew said. "I could tell something was going on that day the storm hit last week. Congratulations, you two."

Jordan looked over to where Topher was standing, trying to gauge the reaction on his face. "What are you thinking about, Toph?"

"I was just trying to figure out a way to give you good news about your stalker."

"You have news?" Jordan asked, feeling her heart start to speed up. "Did you figure out who it is?"

"Not quite," Topher said, seeing Jordan's face fall. "But, next time he makes contact, we're going to be able to figure out who did it."

"How?" Jordan asked, going to her desk.

"He's been using a virus on his phone that makes it fairly hard to track where he's been. Next time he calls or texts or does anything, we'll be able to track where exactly he is. And we'll be able to figure out the number because he hasn't been using a burner phone. Tech said it would be impossible to do everything he's been doing with a burner."

Jordan sat back against her chair and felt a huge rush of relief flow through her. This nightmare was _finally_ going to end. "That's fantastic."

"I thought that's what you'd say," Topher said as he started walking back to his office. "And as for your relationship, I think it's great the two of you are together. Just make sure to report it to Internal Affairs. And don't even think about public displays of affection here. I won't stand for that."

"Got it, Toph. I'll try not to make out with my girlfriend while at work," TC said, causing Jordan to roll her eyes.

-X-

"So, what was so urgent that you wanted to have lunch today and made me cancel on my weekly lunch date with Kenny?" Gwen asked when she sat down across from Jordan at a burger place.

"I thought you'd want to know who the mystery guy is. But if you'd rather have lunch with Kenny, that's fine too. I can get my cheeseburger to go."

"No, tell me," Gwen said. "This suspense has been killing me."

"It's TC," Jordan said, looking down to avoid seeing Gwen's reaction.

"TC? Are you for real right now?"

Jordan looked up and studied the look on Gwen's face. "Why would I lie about this?"

"We can double date and it would be so fun. Like, Kenny and TC are friends and obviously the two of us are best friends. It would be the best."

"So you're okay with the two of us dating?"

"As long as you're happy, I'm happy for you. I just can't believe it took you this long."

"Took me this long?"

"I'm convinced the two of you have been in love with each other for years and this is just the first time that the opportunity has presented itself. And the two of you are going to be together forever, of course. That should go without saying."

Jordan leaned back in her seat and dipped her French fry in ranch dressing, letting Gwen's words sink in.

-X-

"You wanna grab dinner when the shift's over?" TC asked as he started getting ready to leave for the night.

"Sure," Jordan said, smiling up at him. "Any place particular?"

He opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by his phone ringing. He looked at who was calling and sighed. "It's Landry. Don't get your hopes up just yet."

"It's fine," she said, going back to focus on something on her computer, halfway listening to the conversation TC was having with Landry. She squinted at a part in a picture from a case they were working on and clicked on the picture, trying to zoom in on it. "Hey, Drew, come tell me if you're seeing the same thing as me," she said, leaning in closer to the computer screen.

"What's on your mind?" he asked, standing behind her to look at the computer screen.

"There's a really big time lapse between the photos," Jordan said, clicking to the next picture, which almost showed a different time of day. "There's got to be at least three hours between the photos. Which means…"

"Someone tampered with the feed. Good find," he said, heading back to his seat.

"I'm gonna tell Toph," she said, getting up from her seat. "Looks like dinner might not be happening," she said to TC as she started walking towards the office.

-X-

Later that night, Jordan was sitting on her couch, reading a book when she heard her phone start to go off. She looked to see who was calling and smiled when she saw it was her sister. "Hey, Caroline, what's up?"

"Are you home or at work? Because there's something I have to show you. So I really hope you're at home."

"Yeah, I'm home. What's so important that you have to show me now?" she asked, marking her place in the book to grab her laptop.

"Our brother is visiting and I thought it would be a good idea for you to briefly meet him."

"Do we have another brother? Jeez, Dad really got around at some point."

"No, we only have the one. James. He's visiting me and Nick and he wants to meet you."

"Caroline, I _have_ met James. He's been down here so many times." She turned on her computer and waited for it to boot up.

"Jor, that's impossible. Trust me."

"Okay, fine, I trust you." She heard a knock on her door and jumped slightly. She walked over to the door and looked through the peephole, seeing TC. "Hey, I gotta go. Tell James I should meet him at some point if I haven't actually met him." She hung up the phone, took a deep breath and opened the door, putting on a fake smile. "What are you doing here?"

"I thought I would surprise you since the dinner date we had briefly talked about at the station fell through," he said, kissing her forehead. "Plus, I wanted to be the last one to see you as a 28-year-old."

Jordan stepped aside to let him in and rolled his eyes. "Please don't remind me about my birthday. I'm not really in a celebrating mood."

"Forget about your stalker. It's your birthday. You deserve to celebrate." He looked at Jordan and frowned. "Is everything okay?"

She sighed and sat down on the couch, running a hand through her hair. "I just had a really weird call with Caroline. She seems to think I haven't met our brother." She looked up at TC. "But that's crazy. Everyone at the station met him."

"Maybe he meant that he wants to meet up with the two of you at the same," TC said, sitting next to Jordan on the couch. "You look exhausted."

"I am exhausted. And I don't understand why because I feel like I've been sleeping through the night," Jordan said, curling into his side. "You've been here most nights. I'm not crazy for thinking that, am I?"

"You haven't been sleeping through the nights," TC said, looking down at her. "You toss and turn all the time and you've been muttering in your sleep."

"Really?" Jordan asked. "That's weird. Usually, once I'm out for the night, I stay asleep." She felt TC start to play with a strand of her hair and she relaxed against him. "That feels nice."

"Good, because I have to ask you something that might put you in a bad mood."

"That is never a good way to start a conversation, T," Jordan said, scratching the side of her nose. "What is it?"

"Tomorrow, I have an interview set up with the victim's family on the case at 3:30 and Landry has a doctor's appointment at 3:45 and there's no way I'm going to be able to do both."

"You want me to interview the family for you?" Jordan asked, knowing that wasn't what he was asking her.

"Would you just drive Landry to the appointment? I'm hoping I'll be done with the interview by the time she actually goes back for her appointment."

"I don't want to sound petty, but why can't she drive herself?"

"Her car's in the shop."

"Of course it is," Jordan muttered. "Fine, I'll do it. You better have one hell of a birthday present planned for me if I'm doing this."

"Oh trust me, I have big plans for your birthday. You are going to love me forever because of my plans for you," TC said, leaning down to kiss her.

-X-

"Hey, T?" Jordan asked that night, playing with a loose string on her comforter. "Does Landry know about the two of us?"

"Yeah. I told her when I was over there for a little bit before I came over. She seemed…okay about the whole thing."

"That's good. At least she's not going in blind about this whole thing." Jordan started playing with the string again. "So, what's going to happen when the baby gets here?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, are the two of you moving in together? Or having shared custody? And, selfishly, I wanna know…are we still going to be together?"

TC rolled over to look Jordan in the eyes. "Of course we're going to be together. I love you," he said, kissing her. "I don't know about you, but I'm in this for the long haul."

Jordan smiled and took TC's hand in hers. "I'm in it for the long haul too."


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen: Restore Me, Restore Life**

 **Author's Note: Thanks to everyone who has read, reviewed, alerted and favorited the story. I don't say it enough but I appreciate it all. As always, I don't own The Night Shift or any of its characters. The chapter title comes from Cough Syrup by Young the Giant.**

Jordan woke up the next morning and rolled over to look at the clock on her night stand. She sighed and sat up. "Happy birthday to me," she said in a flat voice.

She looked at the empty spot on the bed next to her and raised an eyebrow. Usually, she was the one to wake up first, not TC. But today, he wasn't anywhere to be found, at least not in her room.

The door started to open and TC came in, holding a breakfast tray with waffles and two glasses of orange juice. "Good morning and happy birthday. I brought you breakfast in bed."

Jordan looked at the breakfast and felt her stomach start to churn. "I'm not really hungry right now. I don't actually feel all that great," she said, sitting up in bed more. "But I will take some orange juice."

"What's wrong?" TC asked, putting the tray at the foot of the bed. He got back in bed and kissed Jordan's forehead. "You feel warm."

"I'm just a little worn down. And I had that weird conversation with Caroline that was on my mind for part of the night." She took a sip of the juice, hoping that would calm down her stomach. "What time should I get Landry for her doctor's appointment?"

"Are you sure you want to do it if you don't feel good?"

"I'll feel fine in a few hours. I can do it. That way Landry and I can talk. I'm sure she's not a big fan of the news of us being together."

"She seemed okay with it when I talked to her about last night."

"Yeah, but you never know." Jordan felt her mouth go dry and she quickly started kicking the blankets off her. "I'm going to be sick."

TC followed her with his eyes and flinched when the bathroom door slammed shut. He picked up a waffle to start eating it but promptly dropped it when he heard her start to get sick. "You doing okay in there?"

He heard Jordan cough a few times and heard the toilet flush. He stared at the bathroom door for a few minutes, waiting for her to come back out.

"Sorry about that," Jordan said, opening the door. "I feel a little better now."

"Well that's good. I'd hate to think you were that repulsed by my cooking."

"Never," Jordan said, tearing off a corner of a waffle. "Besides, I didn't think I had enough ingredients to make waffles. Or a waffle maker."

"You caught me," TC said, watching her as she ate to make sure she wasn't going to get sick again. "These are the Eggo waffles from the freezer."

"I knew it," she said, tearing off another piece of the waffle. "Sorry you had to hear me get sick. It's not the most attractive thing."

"Are you feeling okay? Do you want me to call Topher and tell him you're not going to make it in?"

"Not necessary. I feel fine. It was probably something I ate last night that wasn't sitting well in my stomach. That happened a lot in college. My stomach couldn't handle all the grease."

"So…you're okay?"

"I'm going to be just fine. Don't worry about me."

-X-

"Jordan, do you think you could head over to the morgue?" Topher asked in the middle of the day. "See if Gwen has some information that you can tell TC later when he goes to talk to the victim's family."

Jordan looked at her clock, making sure she'd have enough to talk to Gwen and get over to where Landry lived. "Yeah, I can do that."

Topher looked at her strangely. "Are you feeling okay?"

"I feel fine. What did TC tell you?"

"He didn't say anything. Is there something he should have said?"

"No, there's nothing wrong. Don't worry about anything." She pushed back her chair and grabbed her bag. "I'll see you later, Toph."

"Oh, hey Jordan? Hope your birthday's been good so far."

"Thanks, Toph." She gave him a smile and left the building.

-X-

"Birthday girl, thank goodness you're here. This case is a doozy," Gwen said when Jordan opened the doors to the morgue. "How's your birthday been so far?"

Jordan shrugged. "Not the best. I've felt a little queasy all day. I got sick this morning when TC brought me breakfast."

"You know, that's your body's way of telling you to slow down. You've been so go, go, go these last few months. Have you thought about taking a vacation or anything?"

"Vacation? Did you forget that a few months ago I had to take a week off work? Unpaid, I might add. Besides, I don't exactly have the money to go on vacation right now."

"Well, just make sure you relax then. Do you want me to get you something for the nausea?"

"No, it's been off and on all day. I don't have much right now. If it gets really bad later, I might pick something up at the drug store. Although I'm going to need headache medicine because of my afternoon I'm going to have."

"Difficult case?"

"No," Jordan said, crossing her arms. "I told TC I'd take Landry to her doctor's appointment for the baby. Don't ask me why I said I would. It's just that I've gone completely crazy." She shook her head and looked at the body lying on the table. "So, why is this case a doozy?"

"I only have the prelim results back," Gwen said, handing the file to Jordan. "I'm doing extensive testing to make sure it wasn't a fluke."

"Okay. If you get the results back by three, send them TC's way so he can talk to the family. Am I good to take these?" Jordan asked, holding up the folder.

"That's fine. Good luck with taking Landry to her appointment."

"Oh, I'm sure it's going to be a blast," Jordan said flatly, giving Gwen a look.

-X-

"Thanks for taking me to the appointment, Jordan. It really means a lot to me," Landry said in the car, breaking up the awkward silence.

"It's no problem," Jordan said, keeping her attention on the road. "How's everything with you and the baby?"

"It's been a little rough. There's three and a half months left of the pregnancy but it feels like eternity," she said, putting a hand on her stomach. "Still, I wouldn't give it up for the world."

"Do you know what you're having yet? T said the two of you were going to be surprised, but I didn't know if you'd caved in and looked."

"No, I haven't yet. But each time the doctor asks, it gets a lot harder to say no. I really want a girl, but I'll be happy as long as it's healthy." Landry looked down and looked back over at Jordan. "I'm glad you and TC are together. You make a great couple. And I know the baby is going to have a great stepmom somewhere down the road."

"Stepmom? Landry, we just started dating a month and a half ago. We haven't even…it's not like…you know what I mean."

"It's going to happen eventually. You should have seen the way he was talking about the two of you being together last night. He really loves you."

Jordan smiled when Landry said that. "I really love him too." She pulled up to a stop sign and waited a few seconds, looked to make sure a car wasn't coming and pulled ahead.

Out of nowhere, a car flew through a stop sign and hit Jordan's car, sending them spinning out in the middle of the intersection.

-X-

"Jordan, you should get checked out," Gwen said, handing her a cup of coffee as she waited in the hospital for news about Landry or the baby.

"I'm fine. I don't have any cuts or scrapes." She rubbed her temples and took a deep breath. "Where is TC? He should have been here by now." Against her best wishes, she felt a tear start to slide down her cheek. "This is all my fault. He's going to hate me."

"TC is not going to hate you. It's not your fault that someone came out of nowhere and hit the car." Gwen heard her pager go off and sighed. "I have to get back to the morgue. Are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah, I think so," Jordan said, wiping away her tears.

"Well, if you need me, you know where to find me." Gwen frowned slightly. "He's not going to hate you," she repeated, hoping Jordan would listen to her.

Jordan responded with a shrug, turning her attention to her phone that started ringing. "TC?" she asked.

"Sorry, J, no such luck," Topher said. "You still having a hard time getting through to him?"

"Yeah," she said, running a hand through her hair. "I thought he'd try to keep his phone close by since he knew he wouldn't make it to the appointment."

"Any word on how she or the baby is doing?"

"All I know is that it's a boy. That's all I could glean from conversations I've been listening to." Jordan took a shuddering breath. "Toph, you have to know this wasn't my fault."

"Of course it wasn't. And whenever TC gets to the hospital, he'll know that too. But I do have to ask…is there a chance your stalker was the one who did this?"

"That's what I was thinking. But I really hope it's not."

"You didn't see the car or the driver?"

"Positive. The car came out of nowhere." She heard a familiar voice floating from the nurses' station. "Hey, Toph, I gotta go. T just got here."

She hung up her phone and walked over to where TC was getting into a heated argument with one of the nurses. "T," she said, reaching out to touch his arm to try and calm him down.

"Jordan, thank god," TC said, pulling her into a hug. "Are you okay? I got all your messages. What about the baby? Or Landry?"

"I'm fine. I don't know about your son or Landry."

"Son?" TC said, taking a few deep breaths. "It's a boy?"

"That's all I know." Jordan took a shuddering breath and felt a new onslaught of tears start. "T, I'm so sorry. I didn't want any of this to happen." She wiped away her tears only for them to be replaced with new ones. "Please don't hate me," she said, her voice cracking.

"Hate you? Jordan, I could never hate you. You did everything you could. Just know that if your stalker did this, I'm going to kill that son of a bitch."

Jordan swallowed thickly and nodded, feeling the nausea and dizziness from earlier in the day start to come back. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do," she said weakly.

"Are you feeling okay?" TC said, leading her to a place to sit down. "Did you get checked out?"

"I don't need checked out, T, I'm fine. I-" Jordan stopped talking, seeing spots in her vision before falling to the ground.

"Nurse!" TC called, dropping to the ground to check her pulse.

-X-

"Oh good, you're waking up," Jordan heard a familiar voice say. She blinked a few times, trying to adjust to the harsh, artificial lighting. She saw Mollie, her favorite nurse at the hospital, standing next to the machine she was hooked up to.

"What happened?"

"You passed out, sweetie. It was a combination of dehydration and low blood pressure. There's going to be a doctor coming up to talk to you soon."

"A doctor?" Jordan asked, sitting up in bed, feeling the dizziness from earlier start to come back. "I don't need a doctor."

"Yes you do. Sit tight and someone will be in here soon."

"Fine," Jordan huffed. "Do you think you could tell me what happened with Landry or the baby?"

"Well…" Mollie said, looking towards the exam room door to make sure no one was coming. "It's not looking good for Landry."

"What about the baby?"

Mollie's face fell. "The baby didn't make it. He died while TC was holding him."

Jordan felt her stomach churn and felt tears start to form. "This is all my fault," she said, her voice cracking at the end.

Mollie opened her mouth to say something when the exam room door opened. "Hi, I'm Doctor Gould. I have your test results back if you feel up for going over them."

"Yeah, that's fine. Mollie, do you think you could find TC for me?"

"I'll let him know you're awake," she said as she left the room.

Jordan turned her attention to Doctor Gould. "So, what's wrong with me?"

"You passed out from dehydration and low blood pressure, which I'm sure Mollie told you while she was in here. It doesn't appear that you have any internal injuries, which is amazing considering what just happened. You and the baby are going to be just fine."

"Baby?" Jordan asked, raising her eyebrow. "I think you got my results mixed up. I'm not pregnant. And the one that came in with me was pregnant and lost her baby."

"Trust me, you're pregnant. About two months."

Jordan thought to herself, trying to think what was happening two months ago. The charity ball. "Oh…" Jordan said. "I'm really pregnant?"

"You're really pregnant. I'll give you some time to process everything. Hit the button if you need anything." Doctor Gould smiled at her and started walking towards the door of the exam room. "Congratulations, by the way."

Jordan nodded slightly and leaned back against the pillows, thinking about everything that had happened in the last few hours. "Well, now I know why I got sick this morning," she muttered.

"Hey, Mollie said you were awake," TC said, coming into Jordan's room, looking a lot more ragged than he had been when Jordan passed out. "Are you okay?"

"I could be asking you the same thing. Mollie told me about the baby. I'm so sorry, T," she said as she started crying.

"It's not your fault," TC said, going over to Jordan's bed. He sat on the edge and hugged her, running her hand in circles on her back.

"I feel like it is." Jordan said, looking up at him.

"It's not. Actually, I do have some good news to tell you."

"I have some news to tell you too. I just don't know how you're going to take it." She sniffed and wiped away the tears from her face. "What's your news?"

"We got the guy."

"Who hit my car?"

"Yes, and your stalker. We got him."

"Really?"

"Really. I just don't think you're going to like who did it."

"Who was it?"

"His name is Dave Marshall. But you knew him as James Alexander."

"I'm really confused."

"Remember how Caroline called you last night and wanted you to meet the real James? And you got confused because you thought you met him already? Turns out, it was all a ruse. Marshall became obsessed with you after a case you helped the police with when you were still in college."

Jordan blinked a few times and thought back, trying to figure out what TC was talking about. "Oh my god…I remember exactly who he is. I thought the reason he looked so familiar was because he was a family member. But he wasn't family at all." She let her head fall back against her pillow. "I feel like an idiot."

"You're not an idiot," TC said, lying down next to her. "But we got him and he confessed. He's being arraigned as we speak." He cupped Jordan's chin and turned her head towards his and kissed her. "He's going away for a long time." He kissed her on the top of her head. "So, what's your news? Think it can top what I just told you?"

"I'm pregnant," Jordan said, squeezing her eyes shut so she didn't have to see his reaction. "I know the timing on this sucks, especially because of everything that happened the last few hours. And I know nothing is going to make up for losing the baby…why are you looking at me like that?" Jordan asked, opening her eyes to look at TC's reaction.

"Because I don't know what I've done to deserve you. Sure, the timing's crappy and you're right, nothing is going to make up for losing the baby, but this is going to be our baby. Part me, part you. It's a good thing," TC said, kissing her. "I just thought that whenever we would have a baby it would be because we'd been together for a while. Not six weeks."

"So you're okay with this?"

"I'm okay with this. We're having a baby."

-X-

A little while later, Jordan dozed off and TC stayed next to her, one of his arms wrapped around her shoulders. He heard the door open and saw Gwen come in, holding two cups of coffee. "I got one for you," she whispered, handing it to him as she sat down in the chair next to the bed. "I heard about you and Landry's baby. I'm so sorry, T. I know you were excited."

"Thanks, Gwen," he said, taking a sip of the coffee. "Did you hear we caught the stalker?"

"Yeah, Kenny told me everything earlier. That's a crazy story."

TC nodded and heard his phone start going off. "I gotta go. Something's wrong with Landry. Will you…"

"My shift's done. I'll stay here with Jordan until you get back."

"Thanks," he whispered, getting up from the bed.

-X-

"You're not who I was expecting to see here," Jordan said, a few hours later when she woke up and saw Gwen sitting next to her hospital bed.

"TC had something he needed to take care of. So I said I'd wait with you. Oh, Doctor Gould stopped by a little bit ago and wanted to keep you overnight for observation. So you and T can go home in the morning."

"That's good. I have some news for you," Jordan said, biting her lip. "I know you aren't supposed to tell people this type of news until the end of the first trimester, but I wanted you to know since you're my best friend. T and I are having a baby."

"Wow, that's big news. When did you find out?"

"A few hours ago. I still can't believe it's happening." She heard the door open and saw TC walk in. "Hey. Are you okay?" she asked, raising her eyebrow.

"Landry just died."


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen: The Only One I Want**

 **Author's Note: Don't think that just because Jordan's stalker has been revealed that the story is almost over. There's still a lot left to write about. As always, I don't own The Night Shift or any of its characters. The chapter title comes from One And Only by Adele.**

"Are you sure you don't want to go to the funeral? It might make me a little more relaxed if someone that liked me was there," TC said a few days later as he was getting ready for Landry's funeral.

"If I showed up to the funeral, I would be laughed out of there. Let's keep in mind that I'm the reason the Landry and the baby died," Jordan said.

"You know, technically it's Dave Marshall's fault. Those charges got added to his laundry list of charges. He's going away for a long time," TC said, kissing her forehead.

"I just don't feel up to it. I was up all night thinking about everything that's happened the last few days. And that, in between getting sick almost every other hour, wasn't how I wanted to start my day." She laid back down and rubbed her temples, trying to stop the stress headache she was sure she'd be getting soon. "There's so much I have to do."

"Want some help? I'd be fine doing something to help you out then going to the funeral."

"You're going to the funeral, T. You and Landry were together for two and a half years. That's gotta mean something."

"You're right," he said, running a hand through his hair. "Oh, I forgot to tell you, but my parents are going to the funeral and they want to take the two of us to dinner afterwards."

"What? You're telling me this now?" Jordan grabbed one of the pillows off the bed and covered her face, screaming into it.

"I forgot about it. It's been a crazy last few days."

Jordan lowered the pillow and raised an eyebrow. "How much do they know?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, how much do they know about the two of us? Or that I had a crazed stalker that is finally behind bars where he should be. For the time being, at least."

"They know we're together. I didn't tell them about Dave or the baby. I figured we could tell them tonight."

"No, no one gets to know about the baby. Not right now, at least."

"Why not?"

Jordan set the pillow back on the bed and sat up, staring at TC. "Because I'm a pessimist. If we tell a bunch of people, something bad is going to happen." She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "Besides, I may have told Gwen already. And that's one person too many."

"If you told Gwen, at least let me tell someone. It's the only fair thing."

"Who would you tell?"

TC thought about it for a second. "Topher."

"No, we're having that conversation together. Next choice."

"Can we have this conversation later? I'll think of someone at the funeral. I love you," he said, giving her a quick kiss. "You know, if you still want to come, there's still time to change your mind."

"I'm not going. Let me know when your parents are coming over so I can try and clean my place up a little."

"Everything's fine. Stop worrying. I'll see you later." He kissed her again and left. "I'll call you later."

Jordan waited until she heard him leave and fell back against the pillows. "This sucks." She pushed herself up and walked to the kitchen, trying to find something that she could eat without getting sick, which wasn't much.

"Anyone home?" Gwen asked, unlocking the front door.

Jordan walked out from the kitchen and crossed her arms. "You can't do that anymore."

"Why not? There's a reason we have keys to each other's places."

"Yeah, keys that are supposed to be used for emergencies."

"This is an emergency though," Gwen said. "Okay, not really, but I need your advice on something." She handed something to Jordan and crossed her arms. "It's going to start all over again."

Jordan skimmed the letter and handed it back to Gwen. "It's not going to start over again. We're going to take care of it."

"Both of us?"

"Both of us. Keep me up to date about everything."

"I will," Gwen said, making Jordan raise her eyebrow and cross her arms. "I promise, I will this time."

"Okay. That's all I can ask." Jordan walked over to her couch and sat down, patting the empty space next to her. "Are you telling Kenny?"

"Nope. And I know you don't like keeping secrets from TC, but please don't tell him."

"My lips are sealed. I won't say anything."

"Thank you," Gwen said, letting out a sigh of relief. "I'll tell people when I'm ready. But finding out that Jake got released…it's throwing me for a loop."

"He's not coming anywhere near you. Do you have the restraining order?"

"I never went through with it. I mean, when your ex goes to jail, you think that's going to be it. I didn't think he'd get out so early."

"I know," Jordan said. "If you want something to get your mind off of things, you can help me clean my place up a little. TC just told me his parents are coming by later."

"Wow, meeting the parents already?"

"I've met them already. Just not as TC's girlfriend. And they don't know about the baby and I'm just worried that TC's going to accidentally spill the beans."

"Wait, am I the only one who knows?"

"Yes, and that's how it needs to be kept for now. If I'm keeping your secret, you have to keep this one."

"Deal," Gwen said. "So, what do you want me to around the house?"

"I don't know. That's the problem."

"Well, how about this? I'm assuming you haven't eaten yet, so you should go to that little bakery near here and get breakfast and I'll do some cleaning for you."

"That seems incredibly unbalanced."

"Yeah, well, I have the day off today and I want to help you. Since you're probably freaking out about meeting TC's parents."

"And you would be correct by saying that." Jordan looked around the living room and sighed. "I hate that I'm done having to look over my shoulder constantly and now you're going to have to deal with it. Again, I might add."

"I did it for a few years. I can do it for a little while longer."

"Get a restraining order this time," Jordan said, giving her friend a firm glance as she got up from the couch.

"First thing tomorrow."

-X-

"I thought that was a nice service for Landry," TC's mom, Kathleen, said as they were leaving the funeral. "I'm just surprised Jordan wasn't here. I thought you said the two of them were becoming friends again."

"She feels bad about being in the car when she got in the accident," TC said, checking his phone to see if Jordan texted him while he was in the service. "Even though I told her multiple times it wasn't her fault. She's really beating herself up over it."

"Did you tell her that accidents happen all the time?" TC's dad, Marcus, asked.

"Yes, I told her that many times. I need to tell her to stop stressing out about it so much because stress isn't good for the baby."

"Baby? Is Jordan pregnant?" Kathleen asked, getting an excited look on her face.

"Shit, Mom, you didn't hear that. She doesn't want people to know yet. Just forget that I said anything. Let's just get out of here before I say something else I shouldn't," TC said, wanting to get out of the church as soon as possible.

-X-

"Wait, there's no way that actually happened," Jordan said, talking to Gwen as she waited for TC and his parents to come back from the funeral. He'd texted her to say they were on their way, so she only had a few more minutes of peace left until his parents invaded.

"I swear. My grandfather would shove 20 of them in his mouth at one time. It always made us laugh."

"I hope this little one will have grandparents like mine when I was growing up. You know, someone who wants to sit through the dance recitals and badly played soccer games."

"I'm sure baby Callahan will have many doting family members. Especially its Auntie Gwen."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Jordan said, smiling. She a knock on her front door and sighed. "They're here." She took a deep breath and stood up from where she was sitting. "Wish me luck. I'm probably going to need it."

"Let me know how it goes. I'll see you tomorrow."

Jordan nodded and walked over to the front door and unlocked it. "Hi Mr. and Mrs. Callahan. Come in," Jordan said, stepping aside to let them in.

"Oh Jordan, you can still call us Kathleen and Marcus," she said, giving Jordan a hug. "How are you doing after the accident?"

"I've been okay, I guess. Topher gave me a few days off to try and recuperate, but there's not much I have to recuperate from. I got really lucky. I wish I could say the same thing for Landry."

"I have to tell you something," TC said, taking her hand and leading her towards the kitchen. "So, I messed earlier."

"Messed up how?" Jordan asked, crinkling her nose.

"I may have accidentally told my parents that you were pregnant."

"Really? I asked you not to tell anyone."

"I know, it just kind of slipped out. But just think, I've told two people and you told Gwen so you can tell one more person."

"I'm not telling someone else. Who would I tell? Not Caroline, because she'd tell my mom. And if I told my mom, she'd tell Caroline. I'm telling them both when I'm further along." Jordan sighed and tucked her hair behind her ears. "I really don't want to get in a fight about this tonight, especially because your parents are here. Can we talk about this later?"

"Yeah," TC said, cupping her chin so he could give her a gentle kiss. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," she said, sighing. "It was bound to slip out at some point." She wrapped her arms around her waist and laid her head on his chest. "Where are we going for dinner?"

"To a place that won't make you throw up at dinner."

"It's not usually dinner that makes me sick. Just breakfast and sometimes lunch."

"So we could go almost anywhere."

"Basically," Jordan said, dropping her arms. "There's that new burger place in the mall we could go to. Because who doesn't love a good burger?"

"Touché, babe. Burgers it is. Let me clean out the back of my truck and we can go."

"Okay. Probably a good idea since my car is out of commission." She smiled at him and watched him walk out. She ran her hands through her hair and went into her living room, seeing TC's parents sitting on the couch. "So, you heard the news."

"TC let the cat out of the bag at the funeral," Kathleen said. "How far along are you?"

"Two months."

Kathleen nodded. "The next seven months are going to fly by for you. Marcus, do you remember when we found out we were having Thad?"

"We thought we had all the time in the world to get everything ready," he said. "That's never how it really is."

"Yeah, I guess not. We haven't really talked much about what's going to happen when the baby's born."

"Well, you still have some to talk about it. What did your mom say when you told her you're pregnant?"

"I haven't told anyone in my family yet. I just told my best friend. I wasn't planning on telling anyone for a few more weeks. I'm fairly pessimistic sometimes," Jordan said, looking out the window, hoping TC was almost done cleaning out the backseat of the truck.

-X-

"While we're waiting for a table, I'm gonna run to one of the sports stores here to get something. Dad, you wanna come with me?" TC asked, shoving his hands in his leather jacket pockets.

"Yeah, sure. I'm sure your mom or Jordan will let us know when the table's ready," Marcus said, following TC out of the restaurant.

"Here's the thing," TC said after the doors shut. "We're going to pretend like we went to the sporting goods store. I want your opinion on something for Jordan."

"What are you getting her?"

"An engagement ring. I know it's crazy, since we've only been dating for six weeks but we've been friends for years. And it feels right."

"Congrats, son. I think it's a good choice you're making. But I know nothing about buying engagement rings. The ring I got your mom is a family heirloom."

"I know, that's where I come in," Gwen said, meeting up with them. "I don't know how you're expecting me to keep this a secret from her. We don't keep secrets very well."

"I know, but I don't plan on waiting long to do this. You won't have to wait for long. The reason I wanted you here, Dad, was because I wanted something that would go well with Mom's ring. I was going to ask her to have them for the wedding."

-X-

"See, that wasn't too bad, was it?" TC asked, wrapping an arm around Jordan's shoulders as they walked into Jordan's place after dinner.

"I guess not. I don't know, it was weird when you were cleaning out the truck. Your mom started talking about what we were going to do with the baby when it's born and before it's born and now I can't stop thinking about everything."

"Don't worry about it," TC whispered. "We'll figure everything out."

"You sure?" Jordan asked, turning around to face him. "There's a lot we haven't talked about."

"We'll talk about it soon. For now, you look exhausted. You should go to bed."

Jordan sighed. "It was a long day. Promise me we'll actually talk about baby stuff and not put it off until the last minute?"

"I promise."


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen: Heart Always Be Joyful**

 **Author's Note: There's a slight time jump in this chapter, but it's nothing too drastic. As always, I don't own The Night Shift or any of its characters. The chapter title comes from Forever Young by Bob Dylan.**

"I can't believe this is actually happening," Jordan said, looking over at TC as they waited in the doctor's office. "We get to find out if we're having a boy or a girl today." She noticed the weird expression on his face and raised an eyebrow. "Are you okay?"

"Huh? Yeah, I was just thinking about everything. It's been a weird last few months. It just seems like everything's been happening in a whirlwind."

"I know," Jordan said, taking his hand and squeezing it. "At least things are starting to settle down."

"Yeah, finally. So, should we start taking bets about whether it's a boy or a girl?"

"Oh, I know I'm having a girl. I can just feel it," Jordan said, shifting how she was sitting on the waiting room chair. "What about you? Do you think I'm right?"

"I think you're wrong. I think you're having a boy. That's what I told Landry when we had this appointment when she said she didn't want to find out. So I'm sticking with my gut instinct. I was right last time."

"You do know what this appointment means, right?" Jordan asked. "It means we can finally start telling people about the baby."

"Thank god. Have you seen the looks Topher's been giving us? He knows something's up."

"Well, luckily today we can tell him and Kenny and Drew and maybe the weird looks will stop. And I can tell my mom and Caroline. She's going to be excited. Especially because our kids won't be that far apart in age."

TC thought to himself for a minute. "Is the reason you want the baby to be a girl because Caroline's having another girl?"

"Maybe," Jordan said, looking away from him, making TC think that's at least part of the reason she wanted to have a girl.

"Jordan, come on back," one of the nurses said, opening the door. "How are you feeling today?"

"Pretty good. We're excited to find out the sex of the baby," she said, looking back and smiling at TC. "Even though I know it's going to be a girl."

"We'll see about that," TC said, winking at her.

"That's exciting," the nurse said, opening the door to one of the exam rooms. "Go ahead and take a seat on the bed and I'll take your blood pressure." Jordan nodded and got on the bed, trying to get as comfortable as possible. "Everything looks good so far. I'll let the doctor know you're ready and she'll be in to do the ultra sound."

The two of them watched the nurse walk out of the room and Jordan turned to face TC. "Let's make this interesting. Whoever gets the sex of the baby right gets final approval on the name."

"I like the sound of that. You've got yourself a deal, babe," TC said, kissing the top of her head. "Are you ready to see our son when the doctor gets in here?"

"I think you mean our daughter. And yes, I'm definitely ready to see her."

They heard a knock on the door and the doctor came in. "Hi Jordan, hi TC. Are you ready to see your baby?" Doctor Adkins asked.

"And to find out the sex of the baby," Jordan said. "We have a little bet going. Whoever guessed the gender right gets to pick out the name for the baby."

"That's certainly an interesting one," she said, pulling over the ultra sound machine. "This is going to feel cold." She squirted some of the gel onto Jordan's stomach and put the wand on top of the wand, moving it around to try and find a clear picture of the baby. "There it is. Do you want to hear the heartbeat?"

"Of course," Jordan said, not taking her eyes off the screen. She felt her eyes start to well as she looked at the image of their baby on the screen and heard the heartbeat through the machine. She looked over at TC and smiled at him, taking one of his hands.

"Everything looks good for your little girl. She has ten fingers and ten toes." Doctor Adkins looked at the two of them and smiled. "Congratulations, it's a girl."

"It's a girl?" Jordan asked, feeling the tears start to fall down her face. "We're having a girl," she said, looking up at TC.

"I'll let you two have some time to yourselves. I'll go print out some photos of the baby. Congratulations again."

"I thought I was going to be right," TC said. "I hate losing."

"I know you do. I promise I'll pick a kickass name for our daughter."

"I'd expect nothing less from you," TC said, kissing Jordan. "Do you care if I call my parents on the way into work to tell them the news?"

"That's fine. I'll call my mom and Caroline after work today. Actually, I think my mom's with Caroline so that way I can kill two birds with one stone," Jordan said, wiping away the tears from her eyes. She took a deep breath and sighed. "T, I think there's something we have to talk about."

"What's going on in that head of yours?"

"What are we going to do when the baby gets here? Your place is too small for the three of us and I know you're not a big fan of my place, which I don't understand because it's perfect for us…" she said, trailing off. "I think we should start looking for a house for us."

"Yeah, about that," TC said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I might have found a place for us."

"You did?" Jordan asked, sniffing. "Is that what you've been looking up almost every night the last week?"

"Yeah, I wanted it to be a surprise. I think you're really going to like it. We can go look at it tonight after work."

"I can't believe you took the time to look for a place for us."

"I wanted to make sure we'd have a place for the three of us to be together."

"Thank you, T." She swallowed and tried to stop the tears she felt forming from spilling over.

-X-

"Where were you two?" Drew asked when TC and Jordan came into the station after the doctor's appointment. "You missed some big news."

"I think we got big news too," TC said, looking over at Jordan.

"Is it bigger than our precinct having the highest accurate investigation rate?" Kenny asked. "Because that's what we found out this morning."

"I don't know, this is pretty big too." Jordan said, logging onto her computer.

Topher came out of his office holding a bottle of champagne and a stack of plastic cups. "Right now, we're going to have a brief celebration about the news. Jordan, TC, did Kenny and Drew fill you in on what happened?"

"Yeah, it's great news. I didn't even know Internal Affairs kept track of that kind of thing," TC said, leaning back in his chair.

"Well, they do, and it's a big deal. So, I bought a little bubbly to celebrate," Topher said, popping the cork. He poured some into the cups and handed them out.

"None for me, Toph. I'm just going to stick with water."

"Come on, Jordan, it's a celebration. Having a little champagne won't kill you."

"I can't drink the champagne because I'm pregnant," Jordan said as a smile spread across her face. "TC and I are having a baby."

"What? Congratulations!" Topher said. "When did you find out?"

"We found out on my birthday," Jordan said.

"Some birthday present that was," TC said, winking at her.

"Do you have a sonogram picture?" Drew asked, rolling over to Jordan's desk.

"Actually, I do. That's where we were this morning." She rummaged through her bag, trying to find her wallet.

"Do you know what you're having?" Kenny asked, standing behind Jordan to look at the picture.

"It's a girl. She'll be here the end of January." She looked at the guys around her desk. "You have no clue how much better it feels having everyone know about the baby. It was killing me and T not to tell you guys."

"Yeah, Jordan flipped out when I told my parents that she was pregnant when they were here from Austin when Landry died. Which doesn't make sense since she told Gwen as soon as she found out."

"I just didn't want to get people's hopes up. But it's at the point where we can start telling people. You guys actually found out before my mom and my sister. I haven't told them the news yet."

"Why don't the two of you take the day off and celebrate," Topher said. "That's an order."

"Are you sure?" TC asked, sharing a look with Jordan.

"I'm sure. Go spend the day together and talk about everything I'm sure you have to talk over."

"Thanks, Toph," Jordan said, getting up from her chair and stretching. "It feels so good to finally have everything out in the open."

"Congratulations, you two," Topher said as they walked out of the station.

-X-

"Okay, this is it," TC said, pulling up to a house a few miles from Jordan's condo.

Jordan looked out the window of TC's truck and felt her breath stop in her throat. "This place is beautiful, T. How did you find it?"

"One night after Thad died, right before you started working at the station, I was driving around because I wasn't sleeping much and I saw the house. It was completely abandoned. I guess it was foreclosed years ago and it was bank owned. So I started saving and started working on the house here and there. And when I saved up enough, I bought it."

"This is your house? Why have you been living in your small apartment if you owned this _house_?" Jordan asked.

"I was always waiting to move into it until I found someone that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. So, I hope you like it."

Jordan got out of the car and walked up the steps to the front door and turned to look at TC. "Do you have the keys?"

"Yeah," he said, getting out of the truck and walked up the steps. He unlocked the door and pushed it open.

Jordan stepped in the house and looked around at the living room. She walked to the center of the room and looked around, immediately feeling at home. She turned around and faced TC, who had an anxious expression on his face.

"So, what do you think?"

"I think we're home," Jordan said, smiling at him. "I still can't believe you bought a house and didn't tell me."

"I thought it would be a nice surprise." He walked into the house and stood next to her. "I'm glad you like it."

-X-

"Thank god you wanted to talk," Caroline said when her and Jordan started Skyping on the laptop when Jordan got back to her place. "Mom is starting to drive me a little crazy. Which is a terrible thing to say since she's staying here for a little bit, but I'm going to yell if she stays for much longer."

"Well, I actually had some news I wanted to tell you and Mom at the same time. But if she's driving you crazy, maybe I should tell you at different times."

"Yeah, just tell me and then you can talk to Mom. Besides, she's trying to put Nora to sleep right now anyway."

"Okay. Are you ready? I have some big news to share."

"Yeah, I'm paying attention. What's going on?"

"I'm pregnant."

"What? Oh my god!" Caroline screamed. "You're having a baby?"

"Yes! I found out on my birthday."

"And you're just now telling me? How far along are you? Is it TC's baby? Do you know what you're having?"

"Yes, I'm just now telling you. I haven't told anymore. I just told the guys at work. And of course it's TC's baby."

"Well, you never know," Caroline said.

"Anyway, I found out we're having a girl."

"A girl? Jordan, our girls are going to be best friends. This is fantastic," Caroline said as she started crying. "Sorry, I promise these are happy tears. I'm so happy for the two of you."

"Caroline," Jordan's mom, Cecelia, said, coming into the living room where she was Skyping with Jordan. "Honey are you okay?"

"Jordan just told me the best news," Caroline said, wiping her eyes.

Cecelia turned her attention to the computer. "Hi Jordan. What's going on?"

"I'm pregnant, Mom," Jordan said, feeling tears start to come to her eyes.

"Oh my god, are you really? That's the best news, sweetie," Cecelia said as she started tearing up. "When are you due?"

"The end of January. You're going to have another granddaughter," Jordan said as she started crying.

"I can't believe this is happening," Cecelia said. "This is just so exciting."

Jordan swallowed thickly and saw she had an incoming message from Gwen coming through on her phone. She looked at the text and felt her heart slow down. "Sorry to have to cut this short, but I have to go. I just wanted you two to know what was going on. But TC and I are so excited this."

"We're excited too," Cecelia said. "I'm so happy for the two of you. Love you."

"I love you guys too," Jordan said, ending the call. She turned her attention to her phone and saw the message from Gwen. She took a deep breath and responded quickly.

"How'd they take it?" TC asked, coming into the living room.

"They're happy. Look, I know you wanted to stay in tonight, but something came up with Gwen. I'm gonna go over to her place and make sure she's okay."

"Is she okay? You've been going over there a lot lately."

Jordan bit her lip. Things with Gwen's ex hadn't died down the last few weeks and Jordan still hadn't told TC anything about what was happening. "I can't tell you anything. I promised Gwen." She stood up and kissed him. "I'm sorry. I love you and I'll be back later. If I end up staying over there, I'll let you know."

-X-

"It's me," Jordan said, letting herself into Gwen's place. "What's going on?"

"I think Jake's trying to move down here. And I haven't heard anything about whether or not the restraining order has been approved or not."

"Well, we can get a no contact order. We can go to one of the judges' houses. Some of them like me. I'm sure they'd sign off on it."

"It won't do anything. He'd find a way around it."

"I hate that this is happening to you," Jordan said, sitting down on the couch next to Gwen. "Have you told Kenny about any of it?"

"I'm just not ready to tell anyone. Not yet at least."

Jordan nodded and laid her head on her best friend's shoulder. "I have a sonogram photo of the baby. Do you wanna see it?"

"You had an ultra sound today? And of course I want to see."

"Yep, today was the big day where we found out the sex of the baby." She handed Gwen the picture. "It's a girl."

"Really? A girl?" Gwen asked. "How do you feel?"

"Nervous and excited."

"What are you and T going to do when the baby's born?"

"Get this, he has a freaking house. He's had a house for years and we're moving into it at some point. We haven't talked about moving yet."

"Wait, he has a house?"

"I know, that was a surprise to me too. But it's perfect. I walked in and knew that it was going to be where the baby grew up. It automatically felt like home."

"That's great, Jor. I'm glad everything is working out between the two of you."

"Me too, Gwen. Me too."


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen: You're A Diamond Stone**

 **Author's Note: Hey everyone! This chapter again jumps a little forward in time, so Jordan's about seven months pregnant. As always, I don't own The Night Shift or any of its characters. The chapter title comes from When You Gonna Run by Alpha Rev.**

"Are you getting out of bed today?" TC asked Jordan, noticing she was still half asleep when he came back upstairs from getting breakfast.

"Eventually," Jordan said, starting to sit up. She gave TC a miserable look and laid a hand on her stomach. "I love our daughter. I swear I do. I just wish she didn't kick me all night long and keep me up."

"Sorry, babe. Our girl's just planning on being a soccer player. Nothing wrong with that," he said, coming over and kissing her. "I made you decaf coffee."

"No thanks. Nothing really sounds good right now." She reached over and grabbed her phone off the nightstand. "Oh my god, it finally happened."

"What finally happened?" TC said, leaning across the bed to see what Jordan was looking at.

"I'm an aunt again." She tapped on the picture Caroline sent her in the middle of the night. "Bridget Alexandra White. That's such a cute name." Jordan typed a message to her sister and hit send. "I really need to start thinking of a name for the baby."

"You know, if you'd like some suggestions, all you have to do is ask."

"No, that's not part of the bet. I guessed the sex right and I get to pick the name. Besides, I have a few in mind already. I just have to narrow it down."

"Do I get to know what some of these ideas are?"

"Nope," Jordan said, leaning over to kiss him. She pushed the blankets off and yawned, slowly getting out of bed. "You'll find out soon enough."

"I was hoping I could find a way to persuade you to tell me."

"Fine. If you want to know so badly, I was thinking about Erin. I don't have any other ideas in mind, but there's something standing out about that name."

"Erin? I like it."

"Really?"

"Erin Alexander has a nice ring to it," TC said, standing up and walking over to their closet.

"Alexander? That's not what I was thinking," Jordan said, walking over to where he was standing. She put her chin on his shoulder and looked in the closet, trying to figure out what she was going to wear. "I was thinking her last name would be Callahan."

TC turned around and looked Jordan in the eyes, trying to figure out if she was bluffing. "Are you being serious right now?"

"Yeah. I figured at some point the two of us would get married and I figured it's going to be easier to give our daughter your last name to start with than having to change both of our last names at the same time."

"I love you so much," TC said, cupping her face as he kissed her.

"I love you too," she said, smiling at him. "I'm going to brush my teeth and put on some make up. Do you need in the bathroom anytime soon?"

"No, I'll be fine for a little bit." He watched her walk into the bathroom and she shut the door. He waited a few second, then walked over to their dresser. He reached into the back of one of the drawers and pulled out the engagement ring box he'd bought a few months before. He opened the top and ran his finger over the small diamond.

"Tonight's the night," he whispered. He shut the top and tossed it slightly in the air, making sure to catch it so Jordan wouldn't hear the thump. He put the ring box back in the drawer and shut it quietly, hoping Jordan wasn't suspecting anything.

-X-

"What's he doing here?" TC asked when he and Jordan got to the station that morning. Jordan looked up from her phone, where she'd been texting Caroline and saw Ragosa standing in the middle of the squad room floor.

"I thought I'd come see how everyone's doing. After all, you do have the highest accuracy rating. I thought I'd spend the day here to see if you all do something that could be implemented in the other precincts in the area."

"It's called doing our jobs," Jordan said, her eyes narrowing.

"Easy there, Jordan, it's a good thing I'm here. It means you're getting recognized for what you all do. Rest assured, Internal Affairs appreciates what you all do." He looked at her and frowned. "How far along are you?"

"I'm fine. I can still do my job," Jordan said, crossing her arms.

"Well, it's standard policy that pregnant detectives start desk duty when they're about seven months."

"Seven months?" Jordan asked, her face dropping. "What if my doctor said everything's fine with me and the baby."

"It's standard policy, Jordan," Ragosa said. "I'll go let Captain Zia know you're strictly on desk duty."

"I knew I should have stayed in bed today," Jordan said, going over to her desk. "This sucks."

-X-

"Hey, do you think we could talk?" Gwen asked, coming into the police station around lunch time.

"Yeah. What's wrong?"

"Not here. Can you go to lunch?"

Jordan turned around and looked into Topher's office, seeing he was still having a conversation with Ragosa. "I can do pretty much whatever I want right now. Except for working on cases." Jordan opened one of her desk drawers and pulled out her bag. "Let's go."

"It might be awhile. Do you think you need to let Topher know where you're going?"

"Well, I just got put on desk duty. I'm hardly doing anything. Today, I went through my emails and did a mass purge. Did you know I had emails from when I first started here still stored in various folders?"

"I didn't know that."

"That's how I've spent my morning. So trust me when I say that I can take an extended lunch." She stood up and scribbled out a note for TC. She stuck it in the middle of his monitor and turned to face Gwen. "Let's go to lunch."

"There's my girl," Kenny said, coming into the station. "Did you wanna grab some lunch?"

"Sorry, it's a girls only lunch," Jordan said, taking Gwen's hand and leading her out of the station. "Sorry, I'm assuming you didn't want Kenny to know what we were going to talk about at lunch."

"You would be right about that. I'm assuming I'm driving?"

"Yeah, probably." They walked to Gwen's car and got in when Gwen turned to Jordan. "So, why are you on desk duty?"

"There's some policy that says once you hit seven months of pregnancy, you have to go on desk duty."

"Really?"

"Yeah. It's ridiculous. I'm perfectly fine. Doctor Adkins said so last week when I had my appointment."

"I'm sure it's just a precautionary measure. I'm sure you don't want to be in a standoff when you go into labor. That sounds terrible."

"Yeah, but it's unlikely that's going to happen right now. At least, I hope it wouldn't," Jordan said as she started picking at one of her nails.

"Stop worrying about it." Gwen said as she started driving. "How are things with the baby?"

"Doctor Adkins said she's looking just fine. They think she's going to arrive on January 23."

"Is it weird to think that soon you're going to be a mom?"

"Honestly?" Jordan asked, looking over at Gwen. "It terrifies the hell out of me. I mean, TC and I are going to be responsible for this tiny human in a few months. Not even a few months. Eight weeks. That's hardly any time at all. I mean, I feel like there's still so much I have to do." Jordan looked out the window and saw they weren't headed to where they normally went to lunch. "Are we going somewhere different for lunch?"

"We're not going to lunch." Gwen pulled into a hotel parking lot and parked her car. "Surprise!"

"Surprise what?"

"I helped plan you a surprise baby shower. It's just without your mom and sister. Though they'll be making an appearance thanks to modern technology."

"You're throwing me a baby shower?"

"Yep. Come on, people are waiting inside."

Jordan got of the car and walked over to where Gwen was standing and gave her a hug. "You are the best friend a girl could ever ask for. Thank you so much."

"You're welcome. Come on, let's go inside."

-X-

"Hey, Toph, I have a big favor to ask," TC said, going into Topher's office when Ragosa slipped out to take a phone call.

"What's on your mind?"

"I was wondering if I could leave a little early tonight so I could take care of something at me and Jordan's new place."

"I don't know, T. Ragosa would notice if you left early. He's already up my ass about trying to find Jordan's temporary replacement."

"I'm proposing tonight," TC said, hoping it would help his case.

"Really? That's great, man. I just don't think I can let you out early tonight."

"That's okay. I thought I'd ask."

"I do have a plan though. You leave at normal time and I'll find something for Jordan to do around here. You'll just have to text me when it's good for her to leave."

"What's your plan?"

"We're going to have Jordan pick out who she wants as her replacement. Ragosa gave me a laundry list of people who he thinks would be a good match for the team. I'll have Jordan look it over and see who she thinks would be good."

"Okay sounds good. I don't need much extra time. Just maybe 30 minutes."

"Will do. I'll give her a ride to your place when it's done."

"Thanks, Toph. You're a lifesaver."

-X-

"You ready to head home?" TC asked Jordan at the end of the day, waiting for Topher to come out of his office and say Jordan needed to stay a little later.

"Yes, thank god, it's been the longest day ever," Jordan said, standing up from her desk.

"Good, Jordan, you're still here," Topher said, coming out of his office. "I should have started this with you earlier, but Ragosa wants you to go through these applications for your replacement."

"Are you kidding me?" Jordan asked. She sighed and sat back down at her desk. "Will you wait for me?" she asked, looking up at TC.

"T, you can head home. As a thanks for doing this, I'll give you a ride to your place," Topher said.

"Fine. Give me the applications and I'll look them over," Jordan said, holding out her hand for the files.

-X-

"Thanks for the ride home, Toph," Jordan said when he pulled up to her and TC's place.

"Thanks for being understanding about the whole thing. I know it's not your favorite thing in the world right now."

"You're right about that," she said, sighing. "I liked that Krista girl. We'll have to see how she works with the team later this week." She got out of the car and sighed, staring at the front door.

She walked up the front steps and opened the door, still loving the feeling of home that the house gave off whenever she walked in.

As soon as she walked in, she knew something was happening.

"What are you up to?" Jordan asked, stepping further into the house. She looked around and saw all the twinkling lights were hanging around the first floor of the house and candles were lit, leading her to the living room.

"I wanted to surprise you," TC said. "Almost as a way to make up for what Ragosa said earlier."

"It's whatever. I should have expected that being this pregnant would have put me on desk duty at some point," she said, laying a hand on her stomach. "But thank you. I really appreciate it."

"You're welcome. Though I thought IA could have handled everything better than they actually did." TC wiped his hands on his jeans and grabbed something from the counter and walked over to where she was standing. "I got you something that might make you feel better."

"Yeah? What is it?"

TC smiled and showed her a velvet box and got down on one knee. "I woke up this morning and new today was going to be the day I did this."

"T, what are you doing?" Jordan asked, feeling her body tense.

"I thought it was fairly obvious," he said, opening the top of the box to show her the ring. "Just think, we can tell our kid that we've known each other for seven years and only dated a few months before getting engaged."

"That's only if I say yes," she said, her voice catching.

"Well, what are you waiting for?"

"You haven't exactly asked me a question."

TC sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Jordan, I've known you for so long that it seems so ridiculous that it took me this long to do this. But I love you and I can't imagine spending the rest of my life without you. So I'm asking you to be a part of my family. I'm asking you to be my wife. Jordan Elizabeth Alexander, will you marry me?"

"Yes," she said, nodding and smiling.

"Yeah?" TC asked, fumbling to get the ring out of the box.

"Yeah," she said, feeling tears come to her eyes. She watched him slide the ring on her finger and she felt her smile grow wider. She took his hands and pulled him up, wrapping her arms around his neck as she kissed him. "I love you."

"I love you," TC said. He moved his hands down and rested them on the sides of her stomach. "And I love you too."


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter Seventeen: It's A Magical Feeling**

 **Author's Note: Hi everyone! Thanks for reading and sticking with this fanfic. As always, I don't own The Night Shift or any of its characters. The chapter title comes from Pumping Blood by NoNoNo.**

"I am so bored," Jordan said, looking from her computer, seeing TC, Kenny and Drew looking at something on Kenny's computer. "Any chance you guys want some help on whatever it is you're working on now?" she asked, getting up to see what they were working on.

"We're just looking at the Facebook page of your replacement," Drew said, turning around to look at Jordan. "Krista Bell-Hart."

"You're not even working? You all suck," Jordan said, laying a hand on her stomach. She looked at Drew's computer and narrowed her eyes. "That's not even the one that's replacing me."

"That would be me," a new voice said from the doorway. Everyone looked up and Jordan smiled.

" _This_ is Krista Bell-Hart," Jordan said. "Welcome to the precinct."

"Thanks," Krista said, trying to relax a little. "I'm glad I was able to get a job here, even if it is temporary."

"It's going to be permanent," Ragosa said, coming into the station. "At least, if Detective Alexander finally agrees to take her sergeant's exam we've been asking her about the last six months."

"Sergeant's exam?" Topher asked, coming out of his office to introduce himself to his new employee and fend off any anger that Ragosa being in the squad room might bring. "You haven't said anything about that, Jordan."

Jordan sighed and laid her hand on her stomach. "It's because I'm not sure if I want to take the exam. Especially with the baby on the way. And I have the least amount of seniority here. I didn't want to step on anyone's toes."

"Anyone object to Jordan being the next sergeant on the team?" Topher asked, looking at TC, Kenny and Drew. The three of them shook their heads and Topher turned back to Jordan. "Everyone's fine with it. I really think you should take the exam."

Jordan took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Fine. Fine, I'll take the exam. Just, I don't want to take it now. Give me some time to spend with the baby and then I'll take it."

"Excellent. Now, I have to take Detective Bell-Hart down to the plaza so she can complete her paperwork and online training. And when she gets back, she's all yours." Ragosa looked around the room and frowned at the stack of paperwork on Jordan's desk. "Those aren't active case files, are they?"

Jordan turned and looked disdainfully at the stack. "No, they're files that have been closed. I get the joy of putting them into the system," she said, glaring at Ragosa.

"That's what I like to hear," he said, ignoring the sarcasm in her voice. "We'll be back in a few hours."

"So, why didn't you tell us that Internal Affairs wanted you to take the sergeant's exam so badly?" Drew asked, turning around in his chair to face her.

"I'm the youngest person on the team and I've been here the least amount of time. I didn't want you guys hating me for something like this."

"We could never hate you, Jordan," Kenny said, standing behind her so he could ruffle her hair. "I think it's great you want to be a sergeant. Besides, they've asked Drew so many times and he's turned them down that it's nice they want someone else to be second-in-command here."

Jordan looked over at TC and dropped her look when he looked over at her. "Look, I know who was sergeant before me. It was Thad. And I don't want to try and take his place. That's the reason I didn't want to do it."

TC looked at her in surprise. "You didn't want to do it because of Thad?"

"I know you all loved him. It's all I heard about my first few weeks here. I promised myself I wasn't going to take the sergeant's exam before anyone else was a sergeant. I didn't need another reason for everyone to dislike me. Or at least be distant with me." She shrugged. "I guess it's nothing now, though." She gave everyone a small smile and grabbed a file off the top of the pile and looked over it before turning towards her computer.

"Jordan—" TC started.

"T, really, it's fine. I don't want to talk about it." She felt the baby give her a sharp kick and she winced in pain.

"Are you okay?" TC asked, starting to get a little worried. Jordan was eight months pregnant and he was constantly worried she was going to go into labor at work.

"I'm fine," Jordan said through gritted. "It's nothing."

"That doesn't look like nothing," Topher said, walking over to Jordan's desk. "Are you going into labor?"

"No," she said, biting her lip. "At least, I don't think I am."

"Come on, let's get you to the hospital," TC said, standing up from his chair.

"I don't need to go to the hospital," Jordan said. "We still have another month until she's coming. It's not time yet."

"Then at least let me take you to the doctor's. She'll tell you if you need to go to the hospital." TC said, going over to where Jordan was sitting. "Come on, do it for me."

Jordan gripped the arm rests on her chair and pushed herself up. "Fine. Take me to the doctor. But just know I'm going to laugh if nothing is happening to me or the baby."

"You can laugh at me all you want but I'm going to feel better knowing everything is going to be okay with the baby."

-X-

"So, Jordan, I hear you think that you're having labor pains."

"No, I don't think that. This one here does," Jordan said, gesturing to TC.

"Well, let's see how you're doing," Doctor Adkins said. She pulled the ultra sound machine over and did an ultra sound. "Have you had other contractions since the one while you were at work?"

"I had one a few days ago but it went away," Jordan said, focusing on the screen, instantly feeling calmer when she saw the baby on the screen.

"I see. Have you been getting enough water to drink?"

"I guess I could be getting more."

Doctor Adkins nodded wisely. "You've been experiencing Braxton Hicks contractions. It's normal to experience as you get further along in your pregnancy, especially given how far along you are. Are you doing anything stressful at work?"

"No, I've been sent to just doing desk duty. The only thing stressful about it is that I can't help out as much as I want to."

"Well, that's probably a good thing. You wouldn't want something to happen to you or the baby while you were out somewhere, would you?"

"No, not really," Jordan said. She turned her attention back to the image of the baby on the machine screen. "Does everything else look okay with her?"

"She still looks perfect. And still seems like she'll be coming at the end of January. But that could change, especially since you've been having the Braxton Hicks. Have you found a replacement at work yet?" Doctor Adkins asked and Jordan started nodding. "Good. Now, if you do start having contractions or your water breaks, go straight to the hospital. Got it?" she asked, looking at both TC and Jordan.

"Got it, Doc. Thank you," TC said.

"No problem," she said as Jordan's phone started ringing. "I'll let you get that. I'll be upfront if either of you need me for anything.

"Thanks, Doctor," Jordan said, looking at her phone, seeing Gwen was calling her. "Hey, why don't you pull the car around and I'll meet you out there," Jordan said. She waited until TC was out of the room and the door was firmly closed before she answered the call. "Hey, what's going on?"

"I was just at the station to give you an update about Jake and you weren't there. Topher said something about you having contractions. Are you okay? Are you having the baby?"

"No, she's not coming. Not yet at least. I was just having Braxton Hicks contractions."

"Thank god," Gwen said. "So, you know how I said we were going to lay in the weeds until something big happened with Jake?"

"Yeah…did something finally happen?" Jordan asked, looking towards the door, hoping TC wasn't listening to the conversation.

"He's in New Mexico. And he's threatening to come closer if I don't meet up with him." Gwen said, taking a deep breath. "The thing is, I don't want to go alone. I was hoping you'd be able to go with me. But if you can't, I completely understand."

"Let me talk to the doctor and see what she says. I can't guarantee you anything though."

"That's all I'm asking for. I'll let you know. And Jordan," Gwen said, before Jordan could hang up. "I'm really glad everything with you and the baby are okay."

"Me too," Jordan said, laying a hand on her stomach. "Me too." She hung up the phone and walked out of the exam room, seeing Doctor Adkins typing something on one of the computers by her room. "I have a question about something," Jordan asked, starting to wring her hands.

"What's on your mind, Jordan?"

"How bad would it be if I was in the car for a long period of time with someone? And was hours away from home when I'm a month away from my due date? Hypothetically, of course."

Doctor Adkins sighed. "Well, as long as the patient was relatively healthy and hasn't had any hiccups in the pregnancy up until that point, I'd say it was okay as long as the patient didn't drive and wasn't on her feet constantly. However, I would tell the patient to exercise her best caution. Hypothetically speaking, of course."

Jordan smiled. "Thank you, Doctor Adkins."

"Take it easy, Jordan."

-X-

"Jordan!" Gwen said, coming into the police station. "Did you talk to Doctor Adkins when you were there earlier?"

"Yeah, I asked her. As long as I take it easy when we go and I don't do much of the driving, we can go to New Mexico." Jordan logged off from her computer and stood up. "I have to pack. But other than that, I'm ready to go."

"Thank you, Jordan. I really mean it."

"I know. We're going to stop this. Once and for all." Jordan sighed and looked around the police station. "Everyone's going to kill me for taking off."

-X-

"Where are you going?" TC asked, coming home to see Jordan packing a bag. "Is this the part where you tell me you're leaving for good?"

"I'm not leaving for good. It's a thing with Gwen."

"The thing you won't tell me about?"

"Yes. And I'm still not going to tell you. It's not my place to tell you."

"I respect that," TC said, going over to help her pack. "Whatever the two of you are doing, please be safe and remember you're pregnant."

"I'm going to be safe," she said, kissing him. "Don't worry about me. The two of us just have something we have to take care of. If we get too in over our heads, I'll call you."

"Okay, I really don't like the sound of that. Are you forgetting that you were having Braxton Hicks contractions just a few hours?"

"Well, if I go into labor, you'll be the first call I make. I promise."

"Please just tell me what's going on."

"I don't know when I'll be back, but I think there's still some leftovers in the fridge when you need to eat," Jordan said, ignoring what he said. "I love you," she said, kissing him again.

"Call me when you get to wherever you're going."

"I can definitely do that." She turned around when she got to their bedroom door. "When Gwen says it's okay to tell you, I will tell you. I promise." She gave him a small smile and swung her bag over her shoulder as she headed towards the stairs. She opened the front door and saw Gwen's car pull up to the driveway.

"You ready to do this?" Gwen asked, rolling down her window.

Jordan tossed her bag into the back and grabbed her sunglasses, getting into the passenger side of the car. "Let's do this."


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter Eighteen: Dug My Key**

 **Author's Note: Thanks for sticking around and reading this. This chapter is slightly shorter than the others have been. As always, I don't own The Night Shift or any of its characters. The chapter title comes from Before He Cheats by Carrie Underwood.**

"Finally, we made it," Jordan said, flopping down on her bed in the hotel room after the long drive to Albuquerque. "Thanks for driving the whole way here."

"Not a problem. Now, the only thing I need you to do while we're here is to not go into labor. TC would kill me if he wasn't here when it happened."

"I can't control it if I go into labor. Besides, I told him I'd call if I did. It's not like as soon as my water breaks the baby arrives. It'll be a few hours at least."

"Well, I just don't want anything to happen to you while we're here. That's why I'm going to handle everything by myself."

Jordan sat up and raised an eyebrow at Gwen. "What are you talking about? I thought you wanted my help while we're both here."

"I do want your help. But you and I both know Jake. He's not going to be nice about any of this."

"I don't want you talking to him alone," Jordan said. "I remember how you got that scar behind your ear. I'm not going to let anything worse than that happen to you."

"I'm going to be fine, Jordan."

"At least let me sit outside the door where the two of you are talking. So at least I can listen in and make sure nothing's going to happen."

Gwen sighed. "Fine. You can do that. But you're only coming in if it sounds like something bad is happening."

"I can handle that," Jordan said, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. "It's not my favorite thing, but I'll be okay with it."

"That's all I can ask," Gwen said. "I'm hungry and you must be starving. Jake's not meeting me here until noon, so why don't we go find something to eat for breakfast."

"I thought you would never ask," Jordan said, getting off the bed. "You pick the place. I'm sure I'll be fine with wherever you choose." She heard her phone vibrate and looked, seeing she had a message from TC. "I should call T and let him know we made it safely. I'll meet you downstairs." She watched Gwen leave and turned her attention to her phone, dialing TC's number.

"Hey, where are you at?" he asked when he picked up the phone.

"Albuquerque. We just got in a little bit ago. I just wanted you to know where we were and that we got here safely."

"Did you drive through the night?"

"Gwen did. I told her I probably couldn't drive. Or at least that I shouldn't drive. I wish I could talk longer, but we're about to get breakfast before she has something she has to do."

"Okay. Just…be safe Jordan. I love you."

"I love you too. Hopefully I'll be back soon." She hung up and took a deep breath before leaving the hotel room to meet Gwen.

-X-

"This is his car," Gwen said when the two of them got back to the hotel they were staying at in Albuquerque. "I can't believe he's here."

"Are you sure you don't want me to go in there?" Jordan asked, putting her hands on her hips as the wind picked up.

"I'm sure. You know I love you, but you'd be counterproductive to the two of us meeting."

"That's probably true. I left something in the rental car, do you think I could have the keys?"

"Yeah, just don't forget them."

"I won't. Promise." Jordan took the keys and waited for Gwen to go inside the hotel before she turned to face Jake's car. She took the car key and dug it into the side of the car and started walking, making sure she left a deep mark on the side of the car. She walked around to the side of the car and did the same thing.

She stepped back and admired her handiwork. "It's not enough," Jordan muttered to herself.

She heard talking behind her and saw a bunch of baseball players heading into the hotel. She smiled to herself and walked over to the players. "Do one of you think I could borrow your bat for something real quick?" she asked, looking at the college-aged kids over the top of her sunglasses. One of them handed her the bat wordlessly. She smiled at them, took the bat and calmly walked towards the car. She raised the bat and swung it at the car, shattering the driver's side window. She did the same to the other windows and swung the bat into each of the doors for good measure.

She walked back over to the baseball players and handed them their bat back. "Thanks for that." She gave them one last smile and walked into the hotel.

"Did you get what you needed?" Gwen asked from where she was sitting in the lobby.

"Yeah," Jordan said, handing her back the keys. "Is he here yet?"

"I haven't seen him. But since the car is here, I'm sure he's not far behind," Gwen said. They heard the elevator doors make a sound and they both turned around to see who was coming out.

"Speak of the devil," Jordan said, her eyes narrowing.

"Hello, Gwen," Jake Nolan said, coming over to where the two of them where standing. His eyes moved over to Jordan and she crossed her arms. "Nice to see you again, Jordan."

"Beat anybody up lately?" Jordan asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Still as feisty as ever."

"Damn straight I am," she said, her expression not changing.

"Well, my lawyer is waiting in the conference room. Is yours arriving soon?"

"That would be me," a familiar voice said behind them.

Jordan turned around and was shocked who she saw. "Scott?"

"Yeah, I kinda asked him to represent me in the negotiations," Gwen whispered. "I hope that's okay."

"It's fine."

"Now that everyone's here, I suggest we head into the conference room. This could take awhile," Jake said.

"Not if I have anything to say about it," Scott said, following Jake into the conference room.

"Are you still planning on waiting outside?" Gwen asked.

"Only if you want me to," Jordan said, finally softening her gaze.

"Yeah, I'd really like it. You know, just in case."

"Then I'll be waiting right outside the door. I will stay there as long as I need to."

"Thanks, Jordan. I couldn't have done this without you."

"You're strong enough to do it without me, Gwen. You've already done it once before. I believe in you," Jordan said, hugging her best friend to try and give her some form of comfort. "Now go in there and take Jake for everything he's got."

Jordan watched her go in and sat down on one of the chairs, facing the doors to the conference room. She took a deep breath and pulled out her phone, trying to think of something for her to do to keep her mind occupied while everything was happening.

-X-

"Hey, Jor, wake up," Jordan heard Gwen say a little while later.

"Did I fall asleep?" Jordan asked, sitting up and rubbing at her eyes.

"Yeah, but don't worry about it. It's fine. Nothing major happened in there anyway," Gwen said, helping Jordan stand up all the way. "Jake and I are officially divorced and he's never going to bother me again."

"That's good, Gwen. Are you glad this is all over?"

Gwen gave Jordan a smile as they walked to the elevators. "More than you'll ever know." Gwen took a step back and looked at Jordan. "Except, you do know what I'm going through."

"Gwen, you and I are in completely different situations," Jordan said, hitting the up button on the elevator. "And hopefully, everything is going to be over with this whole stalker thing. The trial's a few weeks after I have the baby. And then after that, who knows," Jordan said, shrugging. "I'm just ready to put it all behind me. Just like I'm sure you're ready to do too."

"What do you say we celebrate a little?" Gwen said, going into the elevator when the doors opened. "Order in a little room service, watch some movies and have a girls' night. Who knows, this may be our last one for awhile."

"Well, at least I'm having a girl. She can at least join in on some of the girls' nights we're bound to have. Besides, she's going to need to get to know her Auntie Gwen."

"That's very true." The elevator doors opened on their floor and they walked towards their room. "I'm going to tell Kenny everything when we get back to San Antonio. So if you want to tell TC, you can."

"I don't know. I think this may be one secret I keep." Jordan sat down on her bed and grabbed the room service menu. "So, what do you want for dinner?"

-X-

"Promise me that we're not going to take any more spontaneous road trips like this one for a long time," Jordan said the next night when they got back San Antonio.

"I promise. That drive takes a lot out of you," Gwen said, yawning for effect. "At least next time you'll be able to split the drive." Jordan opened her mouth to say something but was cut off by the sound of the door opening from downstairs. "I'm gonna head out. You and TC deserve some time together and I should stop by Kenny's place to talk to him. Thanks again for coming along with me."

"No problem. I liked seeing the smug look wiped off of Jake's face." She led Gwen out of the room and down the stairs. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow." Gwen turned towards TC. "Thanks for letting me borrow Jordan for a few days."

"Thanks for getting her back in one piece," TC said, smiling at Gwen. He turned towards Jordan and kissed her. "I missed you."

"I missed you too. Hotel beds aren't comfortable when you're super pregnant."

"So, can you tell me what the two of you were doing now?"

"I can. I'm just not going to. It's not my place," Jordan said, sniffing. "I'm exhausted from being in the car so much," she said, stretching. "I'm going to head to bed. Besides, I'm sure I have a lot to catch up on at work before I go on maternity leave." She turned around and started walking towards the stairs before turning around to look at TC. "How's Krista doing?"

"She's good. You and Topher made a good choice on who to replace you. Her and Drew seem really buddy-buddy."

"Good. I'm glad it's working out. That was something I was worried about while we were in Albuquerque." She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I'm glad I'm back, T. I missed you while I was gone."

"I missed you too, Jordan. Being here alone isn't as fun as you would think."


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter Nineteen: Writing's On The Wall**

 **Author's Note: As always, I don't own The Night Shift or any of its characters. The chapter title comes from Time For Me To Ride by Toby Keith.**

"Are you sure you want to come in to work today?" TC asked, looking over at Jordan as they rode in to work. "You look a little exhausted."

"Well, maybe if your daughter would let me get some sleep at night, I wouldn't look so exhausted," Jordan said, shifting to try and get comfortable.

"Oh, so when she's annoying she's just my daughter?" TC asked, joking around with her.

Jordan shot him a glare and turned her attention back to the road. "Also, I would also appreciate it if she would stop putting so much pressure on my bladder. I don't like getting up every five minutes to go pee." She started rubbing small circles on her stomach. "I don't think I can handle another two weeks of this."

"But just think, in two weeks we'll get to meet our daughter. Don't you think it'll all be with it?"

"Ask me once I've gotten some sleep lately," Jordan said, looking over and smiling softly at TC. "I am excited to meet our little girl, though."

"Yeah?" TC said, pulling into the police station. "Or are you just happy to be able to get back to work once the baby comes."

"Well, I'll have a few months off to spend with her. Then I'll come back. But I'm also going to have to deal with trial prep soon and I'm not looking forward to it."

"You think it's going to be okay?"

"It's going to have to be. I mean, I've done trial prep when it comes to working with a victim. But when it's myself and _I'm_ the victim…I don't know. I'm just not looking forward to it," she said, getting out of the car. "But soon it'll be all over with and life can start to get back to normal."

The two of them walked into the police station and Jordan walked over to her desk and sat down, rubbing her hand on her stomach again. "How much longer until the baby's due?" Krista asked, looking over at her from her desk.

"Not soon enough," Jordan said, laughing slightly. "She's coming the end of the month but I'm really hoping she decides to come a little early. I'm fairly miserable right now."

"Jordan, just the person I was looking for," Drew said, coming into the squad room. "I have something to ask you," he said, sitting on her desk. "You're taking the sergeant's exam in a few weeks, right?"

"Few months. I wanted to wait until the baby was a few months old before I took it. Why, what's going on?"

"I just wanted to make sure you were still going to take it. I was down at Internal Affairs earlier and I heard some rumblings about shakeups in the squads."

"Really?" Jordan asked, starting to feel uneasy. "Do you think they'd separate the squad?"

"I mean, it's still speculation as to what they're going to do. If we're being honest, there's so many different times they've threatened it that I'm having a hard time believing that it's true," Drew said. "I'm just thinking that if there was already a change in the squad, they wouldn't make too many other changes."

"That's what I'd hope too," Jordan said, sighing.

"I wouldn't worry about it until it actually starts happening," TC said. "When other squads start making moves and there's a bunch of transfers, that's when it's time to start panicking."

"TC's right," Kenny said. "Until IA gives us a reason to be worried, we shouldn't worry."

Krista opened her mouth to say something but was cut off by Topher coming out of his office. "We have a prison transfer happening from the county jail that's heading to the hospital. Something about the prisoner was injured. I need two of you to go to the prison to check things out and two of you to head to the hospital to stand guard. Who wants what?"

Jordan turned towards Topher. "I have to stay here, don't I?"

"Sorry, Jordan, rules are rules. Even if they're stupid," Topher said, noticing the way Jordan's shoulders slumped.

"Krista and I can head to the prison," Drew said. "If Kenny and T wanna head to the hospital."

"That works for me," Kenny said, with TC nodding in agreement.

"Alright, give me updates every so often," Topher said, turning to Jordan. "We'll find something for you to do. I promise."

"It's fine, Toph," Jordan said, turning to her computer. "I'm sure I can go through my email folders again. I probably missed something when I did it the last time."

"If you need help with something, let me know." Topher came over and laid a hand on her shoulder. "Just think, a few weeks from now you'll have your baby girl and then a few weeks after that you'll be able to do everything you used to again."

"I know. That's what I keep telling myself. Thanks, Toph," she said, looking up and smiling at him. "Maybe something big will happen around here that'll keep me busy for the rest of the day."

"That's the spirit, Jordan. I'll be in my office if you need something." He walked back into the office and picked up his phone, dialing a number and waiting for someone on the other line to pick up. "Hey, it's Topher. Feel like doing me and Jordan a favor for today?"

-X-

"Hi girlfriend," Gwen said, coming into the squad room around lunchtime. She sat down at TC's desk and propped her head up with her hands and looked at Jordan. "I heard you're so bored having nothing to do here."

"You could say that. I just miss feeling like I was doing something to help everyone out."

"Well, you're helping yourself out and helping your baby out by not over-exerting yourself. But I'm sure that's not what you want to hear. So, until I get a phone call from the hospital saying I need to come back, I'm going to be here with you."

Jordan looked up from her desk and felt her eyes start to water. "Really? You're spending the day with me?"

"As much of the day as I can," Gwen said. "As long as there isn't a huge death toll at the hospital, you're stuck with me for the whole day."

"That's something I'm looking forward to hearing. I texted TC since he's just at the hospital for the prison transfer and he's waiting around all day, but I haven't heard from him at all. Which is weird, but I guess that means he's doing what he's supposed to. For once," Jordan said, slightly rolling her eyes.

"I never thought I'd see the day," Gwen said, chuckling slightly. "I was hoping you haven't eaten yet because I think burgers sound good for lunch."

"I haven't been very hungry today. But I'll go with you. I could use a slight change in scenery," she said, smiling slightly as she stood up from her chair. "Oof," she said, rubbing her stomach. "Baby girl's been kicking all day. TC's convinced she's going to be a soccer player but I think she's going to be a little dancer. Just like her mom."

"And her Auntie Gwen will be at every single dance recital she has."

-X-

"So, why's this guy in prison?" TC asked one of the prison guards as they waited outside of the hospital room where the doctors were working on the prisoner.

"Two counts of murder," the guard said. "That's why there has to be one of the guards in the hospital room in addition to us being out here."

"I didn't know that was a thing," Kenny said, turning around to see if he could see what was happening in the hospital room.

"It depends on the prisoner. This one has a history of faking injuries. So we have to make sure that this is a legitimate injury."

"Makes sense," TC said, feeling his phone go off again. He pulled it out and saw another text from Jordan and put his phone back in his pocket. "Jordan's going stir crazy down at the station."

"Gwen texted me and said she's spending part of the day with her. That will help take her mind off of everything," Kenny said. "How much longer until the baby arrives?"

"Two weeks. But the doctor said it could be any day now, especially since she had the contractions a few weeks ago."

Kenny opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by the sound of bullets in the hospital room.

-X-

"Should I be worried that TC hasn't texted me back yet?" Jordan asked, tapping her nails on the table while she sat at lunch with Gwen.

"You said I was a prison transfer, right?" Gwen asked, dipping a few French fries into some ketchup. "Maybe it's just a complicated transfer. Those are bound to happen from time to time."

"You're right. I probably shouldn't worry too much," Jordan said, eyeing Gwen's fries. "Those look really good."

Gwen pushed them to Jordan. "Have at it. They're not done the way they usually are."

"You're the best," Jordan said, taking a few fries as she looked up at the TV screen. She saw something that looked intense and squinted at the small print on the TV screen to see what was happening. When she saw it was something at the hospital, she dropped the fries in her hand and felt her throat close up. According to the newscasters on the TV screen, there was a hostage situation at the hospital. "Oh my god," Jordan said, feeling her heart start to speed up.

"What?" Gwen asked, turning around to look at the screen. "Maybe it's something completely unrelated to the prison transfer. You don't know that it's TC who's in trouble."

"Kenny's there too," Jordan said, digging her nails into the table. "What if the prisoner is taking hostages?"

"Don't," Gwen said, giving her a stern look. "Don't think like that. Everything's going to be fine." She looked around for their waitress and sighed when she couldn't find her. "Come on," Gwen said, digging around her purse for her wallet. "Let's get you out of here and back to the station. Topher probably knows more information than the news stations do." Gwen pulled out $20 and laid it down on the table. "This should cover lunch. Come on, let's get you back to the police station."

"I don't want anything to happen to TC," Jordan said, feeling like she couldn't move from the table.

"TC is going to be fine. But the only way we're going to know if he's going to be okay is if we go back to the police station."

-X-

"All the guards in there are dead," TC said, peering into the observation window in the hospital room. "A prisoner with a gun is never a good thing."

"We have to figure out how to get the doctors out of there," Kenny said, looking at the doctors who were lined up against the wall. "And how to get the prisoners back in his restraints."

"I've already called for backup from the other prison guards and other police officers," the prison guard said. "We're well-equipped for a situation like this."

"It's not going to do us any good if one of us isn't on the inside," TC said, looking between the guard and Kenny. "So, that begs the question; which one of us is going in there?"

-X-

"Topher, please tell me you know something," Jordan said when her and Gwen got back to the police station.

"I don't know anything. But no news is good news, right?" Topher asked.

"That's such a stupid saying," Jordan muttered, turning on the TV on the squad room, hoping she'd hear something about the hostage situation in the hospital. "He has to be okay," she said, feeling like she was having trouble breathing.

"Jordan, why don't you sit down," Gwen said, taking her friend's hand so she could sit her down at her desk. "You look like you're going to pass out."

"I feel like I'm going to pass out," Jordan said, closing her eyes as she tried to focus on her breathing.

-X-

"Don't you even think about going in there," Kenny said, looking at TC. "Jordan would kill you for putting your life in danger like that. Especially because of the baby."

"Jordan would understand," TC said, standing up. "Besides, I have some medical training. Send me in there and I can try and calm things down and get things back to normal." He turned towards the prison guard. "Do you have a bulletproof vest I can wear?"

"TC," Kenny said. "Let me go in."

"Tell Jordan I love her, okay?" TC said, taking the vest from the guard. "And…tell her I'm sorry." He unclipped his gun and handed it to Kenny. "I'll see you on the other side," he said.

TC took a deep breath, squared his shoulders and walked towards the door and opened it slowly.

-X-

Back at the station, Gwen was focusing on making Jordan was going to keep breathing and making sure that her best friend wasn't going to pass out from not knowing what was going on. She heard her phone start ringing and pulled it out of her back pocket, looking at the caller ID. "It's Kenny. That's a good sign, right?" she asked, walking over to the corner of the room to answer it. "Please tell me you've got some good news for me. I'm with Jordan and she's freaking out, which can't be good for the baby."

"TC just went into the room with the prisoner and the hostages. He's going to try and diffuse the tension."

Gwen turned around so Jordan couldn't see her facial expressions. "He did what?" she whispered, hoping Jordan wouldn't be able to hear her.

"I tried to talk him out of it and told him I'd go in but he wouldn't listen to me."

"He is such an idiot," Gwen said. "How are you doing?"

"I'm good. I was calling to make sure you weren't in the morgue."

"No, I'm here at the station with Jordan. Trying to keep her calm."

"That's good. Look, I gotta go but I wanted to give you an update. I love you."

"I love you too." Gwen hung up the phone and walked over to Jordan's desk and sat on the edge of it. "Remember that time in college when we had midterms and instead of studying we went to the Spice Girls concert? And the whole way there, you were freaking out about failing?"

"Why are you bringing that up?" Jordan said, taking her eyes off the TV screen.

"Because you need a distraction. And I'm trying to provide that for you."

"Yeah, I do remember it. You basically dragged me out of our room."

"Damn straight I did. I wasn't going to let you miss the concert. Besides, going to a concert isn't the same if you don't have your best friend there to share it with you."

"I ended up getting a C on my midterm."

"But it was so worth it."

-X-

"Who are you?" the prisoner asked, pointing the gun at TC.

"My name's TC. I'm going to help you, okay?" TC said, taking a few cautious steps into the hospital room. "Why don't you set the gun down and let the doctors go."

"They're staying here. I'm not letting anyone go."

"Maybe if you let some of them go, you and I can talk. I'm a police detective. If you let the doctors go, I can tell the prosecutors that you cooperated and they may take it easy on you."

"I'm already in prison for the rest of my life. It's not going to do any good," he spat.

-X-

"Is that TC?" Jordan asked, squinting at the TV.

"What?" Gwen asked, feeling her heart sink as she saw the horrified look on Jordan's face. "Maybe it's just someone who looks like him."

"Gwen, that's TC." She turned around and grabbed the remote, turning up the volume on the screen.

"It's been confirmed that Detective TC Callahan has gone into the hospital room with the hostages to try and diffuse the tensions," the newscaster said. "If you're just now tuning in, you're looking at video feed from San Antonio Memorial Hospital, where an ordinary prison transfer has turned into a hostage situation."

"What the _fuck_ is he doing?" Jordan asked, twisting her engagement ring. "I'm going to kill him!" She started to get up her chair and grabbed her purse. "Come on, Gwen. We have to get to the hospital."

-X-

"Do you have any kids?" TC asked, trying a different course of action.

"Two."

"Maybe you can give me some advice then," TC said. "My fiancé's about to give birth and I have no clue that I'm going to do."

"Boy or girl?"

"A girl. She's going to be here in a few weeks."

"Girls are easy to take care of when they're babies. It's when they're older that you're fucked." The prisoner started twirling around the gun. "The lady that locked me up said I can't see my kids. I haven't seen the kids since I've been in prison."

That set off a lightbulb in TC's head. "What if I talked to the prosecutor and worked out a way you could see your kids? How's that sound?"

"It's no use. Not after everything I did." He put the gun to his temple and put his finger on the trigger. "It's no use," he repeated.

"It's worth a try," TC said, trying not to sound desperate. "Come on, man, let's try talking to the prosecutor. Maybe she'll let you see your kids."

-X-

"I'm sorry, ma'am, you can't go back there," one of the security guards said when Jordan got to the hospital.

"No, you don't understand, my fiancé is one of the hostages. I need to make sure he's okay," Jordan said, trying to force her way past the security guard.

"Sorry but I have orders from my boss. No one's allowed past this point."

"Please," Jordan said, feeling tears come to her eyes. "I just want to see him." She heard a gunshot go off and felt her heart stop.

-X-

TC heard a gunshot from behind him and turned around and saw a prison guard coming into the room. "That was a close one," the guard said, going over to the prisoner's body, which had slumped over and left blood spatter on the wall. "Thanks for your help, Detective Callahan."

TC nodded and ran a hand through his hair. "Is there…do I need to do anything?"

"Nope, you're good to go. Thanks for keeping him relatively calm."

In a daze, TC walked out of the room and stood next to Kenny. "Glad that didn't turn out as bad as it could have been," Kenny said. "Come on, let's get you back to the station. I'm sure Jordan's ready to kill you right about now."

"Jordan knows?" TC asked, turning towards Kenny.

"You've been all over the news. Gwen texted me and said Jordan was fuming the whole way over here." The two of them walked towards the entrance of the hospital. "Maybe she'll go easy on you since you're still alive and did save the day and everything."

Jordan heard Kenny's voice and snapped her head around, trying to find where the sound was coming from. When she spotted him and spotted TC next to him, she felt her breath and catch in her throat and let go of Gwen's hand that she hadn't even realized she was holding. "He's okay," she whispered.

TC spotted Jordan and walked over to where she was. "Don't hate me too much," he whispered, cupping her face before kissing her.

"You're safe," Jordan said, feeling tears start to spill over. "That's what I care about right now." She wrapped her arms around him and laid her head on his chest. "That's all that matters." She heard a weird noise and looked down and gasped.

"What's wrong?" TC asked, looking at her face.

She looked up at him with wide eyes. "I think my water just broke."


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter Twenty: Never Leave Her**

 **Author's Note: Here it is: the Callahan baby girl makes her big arrival in this chapter! As always, I don't own The Night Shift or any of its characters. The chapter title comes from Piece by Piece by Kelly Clarkson.**

"Your water broke?" TC asked, looking at Jordan with wide eyes. "Good thing we're already at the hospital."

"Let's get you a wheelchair," Gwen said, going over to the nurses' station.

"We have to call our parents and I need to tell Caroline," Jordan said, looking up at TC with a slightly terrified look on her face. "This can't be happening right now."

"I heard it's time for the baby to arrive," Mollie said, bringing the wheelchair over to where TC and Jordan were standing. "Sit on down and I'll take you up to the maternity wing."

TC took one of Jordan's hand and gave it a squeeze as they started walking to the elevators. "Gwen, call the squad," TC said, turning around to face her. "Let them know the baby's on her way."

"Hold on, I'm coming with you." Gwen said, walking between people so she could catch up with them. "My best friend's having a baby. Do you really think I wouldn't be with you for as long as I could?" Gwen asked, squeezing Jordan's other hand.

"I can't believe it's time," Jordan said, rubbing her hand across her stomach. "It seems like I just found out I was pregnant. And now it's finally time."

-X-

"Everything's looking good so far, Jordan," Doctor Adkins said, looking at the fetal heart rate monitor. "You're a couple of centimeters dilated so you've still got awhile. So sit back and try to be as comfortable as possible."

"Is there a certain time you think she'll be here?" Jordan asked, sitting up in the hospital bed to try and get more comfortable.

"It could be a matter of hours or it could be the next time I come in to check on you. I'll be here all night and all day until the baby comes."

"Thanks, Doctor Adkins," Jordan said, taking a deep breath. She watched her doctor leave the room and turned to TC. "You should go home and change. We might be here for awhile."

"I'm staying right here," TC said, getting up to walk over to Jordan's bed. "You're not getting rid of me so easily," he said, kissing the top of her head.

Gwen opened the door and came in. "Okay, so I called the whole squad and I'm sure they'll all be here soon. I also took the liberties of calling your parents to let them know. Jordan, your mom's trying to get a flight down here as we speak. TC, your parents are driving over from Houston now."

"Thanks, Gwen, you're the best," Jordan said, tying her hair back. "So I guess we play the waiting game for now."

There was a knock on the door and they looked over to see Topher poke his head in. "Can we come in?"

"Yeah, come on in," she said.

"How's everything going so far?" Topher asked, opening the door wider so the team could come in.

Jordan's eyes when she saw how much stuff the team was carrying. "What is all this?"

"You're having a baby, Jordan," Topher said, setting the balloons down on the ground. "We're here to celebrate the newest member of the team."

"You went a little overboard," Jordan said, looking at the balloons and flowers and the oversized teddy bear that Drew was holding.

"Well, we wanted you to know that we're prepared to spoil your daughter. Especially on bring your daughter to work day, whenever it happens," Drew said. "How much longer until the baby comes?"

"It's probably going to be awhile," Jordan said. "You guys don't have to wait here. I'm sure T or I will call you when she arrives. Besides, you all have cases to solve. There was a hostage situation earlier today." She grimaced and doubled over in pain.

"We've got it all under control, Jordan. We're camping out until we get to meet the newest little team member," Topher said. "Janet sends her love, of course."

Jordan laid her head back on the pillow and sighed. "Look, I appreciate you all being here but could I just have a moment alone with T for a minute?"

"Yeah, I could go for coffee anyway," Gwen said, catching on to what Jordan was saying. "Who's with me?"

One by one, they followed Gwen out of the room and Jordan looked over at TC with a tired look in her eyes. "I don't think I can do this."

"Do what?"

"I can't be a mother," Jordan said, feeling tears starting to form in her eyes. "I'm not ready."

"It's a little too late for that," TC said.

"You went into a hostage situation today and didn't even think twice about it. And last month, I went to New Mexico on Gwen when I probably shouldn't have. We've made terrible choices and what if it affects our daughter in the future." She wiped away the tears in her eyes. "I don't want our daughter to grow up with only parent."

"She's going to have both of us."

"I don't want to take that chance. We both need to be more careful. No more going into hostage situations without having a plan," she said, looking up at him.

"No more impromptu trips across state borders while having contractions," TC said, kissing her. "We're going to be okay. We're going to be there for her. We've got this."

Jordan nodded and laid her head on his chest and felt herself relax slightly. "We've got this."

-X-

"Alright, Jordan," Doctor Adkins said. "It's time. Are you ready to meet your baby girl?"

"Let's do this," Jordan said, looking over at TC as she felt her heart start to speed up. "It's finally happening."

"Looks like your baby's going to be a night owl just like you were in college," Gwen said, kissing her best friend on the cheek. "I can't wait to meet her," she whispered as they started wheeling the bed towards the delivery room.

"We'll be in the waiting room," Topher said as the squad started walking out of the room.

"How are you feeling?" Doctor Adkins asked as they were on their way.

"Nervous and anxious. And a little excited," Jordan said. "What about you, T?"

"I'm ready to meet our daughter."

"It won't be much longer," Doctor Adkins said. "I hope the two of you have gotten enough sleep the last few months because it's going to be a long time before you get more sleep."

"That's the part I'm not looking forward to," Jordan said as they opened the doors to the delivery room. "But I'm ready to meet our little girl." She took a jagged breath as another she had another contraction. "I think I'm ready to not have contractions anymore."

"It'll all be over soon," Doctor Adkins said soothingly. "On the next contraction you're going to start pushing, okay?"

Jordan nodded and reached out and took one of TC's hands. "You ready?"

"Let's do this," he said, squeezing her hand as he moved closer to her and kissed the top of her head. "Let's meet our daughter."

-X-

"She's perfect," Jordan said a little while later, looking at their daughter. "She's absolutely perfect."

"She's beautiful. Just like her mother," TC said, looking over Jordan's shoulder. "So, did you decide to stick with Erin? Or you going for something different?"

"Nope. We're sticking with Erin. Erin Nicole Callahan," she said, looking up at TC with a soft smile on her face. "What do you think?"

"I think it's perfect," he said, sitting down on the bed next to Jordan. "Welcome to the world, Erin Nicole Callahan."

They heard a knock on the door and saw TC's parents come in the room. "Can we see her?"

"Of course," Jordan said. "Kathleen, Marcus, I'd like you to meet your granddaughter Erin Nicole Callahan."

"She's so beautiful," Kathleen said, looking at her. "Can I hold her?"

"Of course," Jordan said, handing her over to Kathleen. "She weighed seven pounds, twelve ounces and was born at 4:58 a.m."

"When's your mom arriving?" Marcus asked.

"She's leaving D.C. around noon so she'll hopefully be here by dinner. She's gained two granddaughters in the last year so I'm sure she's in her element right now."

"You think I should go let the team know she made her grand appearance?" TC asked.

"I'm sure Gwen's chomping at the bit to see her. Send them on back," Jordan said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"I love you," TC said, kissing Jordan before turning to his parents. "I'm glad you guys made it here."

"We wouldn't miss it for the world," Kathleen said, not taking her eyes off of Erin.

TC smiled at them and walked out of the room, heading towards the waiting room. He rounded the corner, expecting to find everyone asleep but was shocked to find they were all still wide awake. "I have an announcement to make," he said, walking to where they were sitting. He sat down on the coffee table that was facing them and took a deep breath. "As of 4:58 this morning, Jordan and I became parents to a healthy seven pounds, twelve ounce baby girl. Her name's Erin Nicole Callahan."

"Congratulations!" Topher said, standing up to give TC a hug. "Do we get to see her?"

"Yeah, she's back in the room with my parents and Jordan. I'll take you back," TC said, standing up.

They walked back to Jordan's room and TC opened the room, Gwen going straight towards TC's mom to see the baby. "Oh my god, Jordan! She's so adorable," Gwen said. "Luckily for you, she seems to be taking after your looks nicely."

"That's not what I wanted to hear. That means I'm going to have to fend off all the boys in the future," TC said jokingly.

-X-

A little while later, TC was holding Erin while Jordan was asleep and heard the door open. He looked up and saw Jordan's mom, Cecelia, come in. "You wanna meet your granddaughter?" he asked, standing up to walk over to where she was standing.

Cecelia held out her arms and TC placed Erin in them. "She's beautiful, TC."

Jordan sniffed and started waking up. She pushed herself up in bed and looked over to see her mom and TC talking. "You made it," Jordan said, rubbing her eyes to try and wake up a little more.

"The first thing I did after getting a rental was drive straight over here to see you," Cecelia said. "So she was born early this morning?"

"Yep. At 4:58," Jordan said. "Just like I was."

"Well, like mother, like daughter." Cecelia looked back down at Erin. "She's so beautiful, Jordan. She looks like you did when you were born. She's even got the dark hair like you did. Caroline had lots of hair but she had blonde like your father."

"I wish Caroline was here. I know she'd want to meet her goddaughter. And I'm sure Nora and Bridget want to meet their little cousin."

"They'll meet her soon enough. Easter's right around the corner and I'm sure you'll come up for Easter this year." Cecelia looked over at TC. "Your parents are more than welcome to come to Ohio for Easter if they'd like to."

"I think they're going to be on vacation then, but I'll be sure to let them know," TC said.

-X-

That night, TC and Jordan were holding Erin when the nurse came into the room. "If you'd like, we can take Erin to the nursery so you both can get a good night's sleep. It may be the last time it'll happen for a few years.

"I guess that sounds like a good idea," Jordan said, looking down at Erin and fixing her swaddle. "She can start socializing with the other babies then." She kissed the top of Erin's head and TC did the same. "Goodnight, sweet girl."

"I can take her," the nurse said, coming over and putting Erin in the little crib. "You can come by tomorrow morning and bring her back here if you'd like."

"Sounds good," TC said, wrapping an arm around Jordan's shoulders. "I told you you'd be a good mother," TC whispered.

"Pre-baby jitters is all it was," Jordan said. She looked up at him and smiled. "She's the most perfect little girl ever to exist. Besides me of course."

"Of course," TC said, kissing her. "I'm curious, where did Nicole come from?"

"It's Gwen's middle name. I knew Caroline was going to be Erin's godmother but I wanted Gwen to be a part of Erin's name somehow, and Erin Gwen Callahan didn't sound right. Do you not like it?"

"No, I think it's perfect. I just didn't know where it came from. Erin Nicole Callahan is perfect."


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter Twenty One: Never Let You Go**

 **Author's Note: This chapter is a little shorter than some of the other ones but I'll make it up with the next few chapters. As always, I don't own The Night Shift or any of its characters. The chapter title comes from I Will Be by Avril Lavigne.**

"Are you sure you're okay with watching Erin for a few hours?" Jordan asked her mom one day while she was still on maternity leave.

"Jordan, I raised two daughters and I have three granddaughters. I will be okay watching this little one. I just don't understand why you have to go through trial prep for your own case. Don't you know all the tricks by now?" Cecelia asked, picking Erin up from her crib when she started getting fussy.

"I know the tricks when I'm being questioned for my job. I don't know what to do when I'm the victim of stalking," Jordan said, tying her hair back into a messy bun. "Besides, the new Assistant District Attorney is in charge of the case and I've never worked with her before. She could have a whole different style of questioning than I'm used to." She sighed and looked at her mom holding Erin. "If it were up to me, I wouldn't have to testify at all. Or at least go through witness prep today. I wanted to spend time with you since it's your last day here."

"I can always stay longer if you need me to. Ohio's too dreary in the winter for me anyway."

"I would love that," Jordan said, looking around the room to make sure everything was in place so her mom could find something for Erin if she needed to. "I just don't know what TC would have to say about that."

"I guess you're right. Besides, the two of you should get to experience parenthood without your mother around all the time." Cecelia looked down at Erin and sighed. "I'm just going to miss waking up to this beautiful face all the time."

"I'm going to miss having you around. It's made this last month go a little smoother than I thought it would." Jordan heard the alarm she set on her phone start to go off and she sighed. "I guess I should head down to the courthouse now. I'll be back in a few hours."

"Bye, honey. I'm sure everything will go fine," Cecelia said, kissing her daughter on the cheek.

"Bye my baby girl," Jordan whispered, kissing Erin on the top of her head. "Thanks again, Mom."

"Go before you're late."

-X-

"You must be Jordan Alexander," a new voice said as Jordan was waiting outside one of the courtrooms, twisting her engagement ring absentmindedly. "I'm Carol Vox, the new ADA. Are you ready for practice questioning?"

"Yeah. Let's just get this over with. I just want to get back home to be with my daughter."

"I heard you just had a baby. What's her name?"

"Erin," Jordan said, digging through her bag to pull out her phone. "She'll be a month old on Wednesday," she said, showing Carol a picture of Erin.

"She's adorable," Carol said. "So, do you have any questions for me before we get started?"

"Not really. I'd like to think I know what I'm doing since I've done it for so many cases. It can't be that different, can it?"

"Luckily, no. This is going to be an easy prep session for the both of us today. As long as you tell me the truth and let me know of anything the defense can use against you, I don't see any reason why this won't be a speedy trial."

"That's always good to know. Do you want me to head to the witness stand?"

"No, since you already know what it's like to be on the stand, I won't do prep from there. Let's sit here and we'll go over the points I have written down and some of the questions you can expect from the defense."

The doors to the courtroom opened and one of the other ADAs came into the courtroom. "Carol," he said. "There's an emergency hearing on the Prince case. Can I borrow you for a minute?"

Carol turned towards Jordan apologetically. "I'll be right back, I promise."

"You're fine. It'll give me time to gather my thoughts." She smiled at Carol and watched her walk out of the courtroom.

Once she was alone, Jordan took a deep breath and looked around the courtroom. Even when she was testifying on a case, she hated being in the courtroom. And now that it was her own case, she really didn't like being in the courtroom.

She heard one of the side doors open and turned to see who was coming in, feeling her heart stop when she laid eyes on Dave Marshall. "We meet again," he said, a smile creeping across his face.

"What…what are you doing here?" Jordan asked, trying to control the emotion in her voice.

"Sorry about that," Carol said, coming back into the courtroom. She stopped when she saw Dave and his lawyer in the courtroom. "You have to get out of here. I'm prepping my witness for trial next week."

"We must have gotten our wires crossed," the lawyer said, coming over to where Jordan and Carol were standing. "I'm Jason Palmer, attorney for Mr. Marshall. You must be Jordan. It's so nice to finally meet you."

"I wish I could say the same about you," Jordan said, crossing her arms. "Is there another place we could do this?" Jordan asked, turning her attention to Carol.

"We can go to my office upstairs," she replied, her eyes narrowing.

-X-

"Mom?" Jordan called out when she got back to the house, setting her keys down on the table.

"How was trial prep?" Cecelia asked, coming out of the kitchen. "You weren't gone for as long as I thought you'd be."

"It was fine. He showed up in the middle of it," Jordan said. "It through me for a loop. I haven't seen him face-to-face since he was arrested. When I found out he wasn't James."

"Do you want me stay down here when the trial starts? So I can give you some form of moral support?"

Jordan shook her head. "No, I'll be fine. I have TC and the team. And Gwen's here too." Jordan heard Erin start crying and she sighed. "And I have my baby girl to come home to when the day is over." She walked up the stairs and opened her door slowly. She picked Erin up from her crib and held her close, rubbing small circles on her back. "It's going to be okay," Jordan whispered, kissing the top of Erin's head. "It's going to be okay," she repeated. She moved Erin so she was resting on her right hip and started walking back downstairs. "Let's see what Grandma's doing in the kitchen," Jordan said, rounding the corner from the stairs to the kitchen.

"I think this one's going to be my little helper in the kitchen," Cecelia said, turning around from the stove. "Just like you were when you were younger."

"That's because I helped Grandma in the kitchen when we'd go visit her in the summer. Some of my earliest memories are me in the kitchen."

Cecelia smiled at Jordan. "I remember one Thanksgiving you were so excited because my mom asked if you wanted to make the turkey with her the next morning."

"And then I was sick that night and had to go to the hospital the next morning. Good times," Jordan said, putting Erin in her high chair. "What do you say, kid? Are you gonna be a helper in the kitchen?" Erin started gurgling. "I'll take that as a yes," Jordan said.

"When is TC getting home tonight?"

Jordan opened her mouth to respond but was cut off by the front door opening. "Now," she said.

"Hey babe," TC said, coming into the kitchen, giving Jordan a kiss on the cheek. "I heard about what happened at the courthouse."

"Yeah, not exactly how I wanted witness prep to go. Do you wanna give Erin her bottle? I'm a little tired; I think I should go lay down for a little bit."

"You feeling okay?"

"Yeah. Witness prep takes a lot out of you when you're the one that the case hinges on. Come get me when dinner's ready." She walked into the living room and grabbed the blanket off the back of the couch and curled up and tried to close her eyes for a few minutes, hoping that she wouldn't have a nightmare about seeing Marshall face-to-face.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter Twenty-Two: Raining Icepicks**

 **Author's Note: This chapter and the next few are really action packed and they've been a lot of fun to write. As always, I don't own The Night Shift or any of its characters. The chapter title comes from Rusty Cage by Johnny Cash.**

"I can't believe it's my first day back at work," Jordan said, getting back into the car with TC when they'd dropped Erin off at the babysitter's place.

"You ready to be back?"

"Of course. I'm going to miss Erin so much. But it's going to be nice having conversations during the day with people who can respond back to me. Erin may be completely adorable, but she's not much of a conversationalist yet." Jordan sighed and turned to face TC. "It's going to be nice to actually work when I get back to the station."

"You say that now. But for the last week, Kenny and Drew have been putting cases they didn't want on your desk. It's going to be your welcome back present from them."

"I'm going to kill them when I'm the new sergeant," Jordan said, rolling her eyes. "There will be pure hell to pay."

"I tried to remind them of that. They weren't that concerned."

"Well, they should be in the future. How's Krista been working out with the squad?"

"It's been really good. I think you and Topher made a really good decision in bringing her to the team."

"That's good to know. I like to think I can read people." They pulled into the police station and Jordan felt her heart start to beat faster. "I feel like I have first day jitters. It's like the first day of school all over again."

"At least you know everyone here likes you."

"That's not what I thought when I started working here. I thought everyone hated me. Luckily I know that's not the truth anymore."

"It's definitely the truth. Especially since we just had a kid together."

"An adorable kid," Jordan said, getting out of the car. She stared at the entrance of the station and took a deep breath. "I'm so excited to be back."

"Be prepared for Toph wanting to see new baby pictures. He's somewhat disappointed in me not having a lot of photos of Erin on my phone."

"I definitely have him covered." Jordan said, opening the door to the squad room, immediately being hit in the face with confetti and silly string.

"Welcome back, Jordan," Kenny said, spraying more silly string in her face.

"This isn't exactly the greeting I thought I'd get," Jordan said, shaking her head, watching more confetti fall from her hair. "But thanks, guys. I'm glad to be back."

"Where's baby pictures? Your fiancé is lacking in that department," Krista said, coming over to where Jordan was standing to give her a hug.

"The question is how much time do you have to look through them with me? I have hundreds," Jordan said, taking out her phone. She tapped her finger on the photo section on her phone and pulled up a photo album of pictures of Erin. "My mom took this one when we first got home from the hospital."

"Awh, she's so adorable," Krista said, looking at the photos as Jordan showed them to her.

"Don't you have some work to be doing?" Topher asked jokingly, coming out of his office. "It's not like you've had the last few months off or anything."

"Very funny, boss," Jordan said, walking over to her desk. "I just wanted to be the annoying coworker who comes back from maternity leave and shows everyone baby pictures."

"Well, in that case, I'll excuse that since TC doesn't have any pictures on his phone."

"It's not like I haven't tried," TC said. "Every time I try to take her picture, she starts crying. She just doesn't like me taking her picture."

"Sounds like Erin already likes Jordan better than you, T. How's that feel?" Drew asked, leaning back in his chair.

"Erin just doesn't like him because doesn't change her diaper fast enough," Jordan said, giving TC a pointed look. "She just screams and screams until he finally realizes that's what's wrong."

"I miss the days when you weren't here to rat me out on the things our daughter does," TC said jokingly, winking at Jordan.

Topher heard the phone in his office start ringing and he sighed. "Duty calls. Back to work, everyone. Jordan, we're glad to have you back."

"Thanks, Toph. It's good to be back." She looked at the pile of case folders on her desk and raised an eyebrow. "T, you really weren't joking about the case files."

"Man, you told her? It was supposed to be a surprise," Kenny said, coming over to Jordan's desk. "Those are your 'welcome back' present from me and Drew. We know how much you've missed working."

"Oh trust me, I have missed working. I just didn't think I'd come back to work and be this far behind already," Jordan said, eyeing the pile. "There has to be at least fifty cases here."

"Well, luckily for you," Drew said, "We have some leads on most of the cases. We just wanted a pair of fresh eyes to look them over before we pursued any of them."

"Well, how nice of you," Jordan said, taking the top folder from the pile, opening it to look at the case details. "Any particular order I should look at these?"

"Any order you feel like."

"Fantastic," Jordan said, scanning the first folder.

"Hey, Jordan, would you mind coming into my office for a second?" Topher asked, peeking out from his office. "It's important."

"Sure," Jordan said, putting the case file back on top of the pile. She pushed her chair back and walked to Topher's office, shutting the door behind her. "Is everything okay?"

"I just got a call from the jail. There was a security breach this morning and Marshall escaped."

"What?" Jordan asked, feeling her heart pick up. "How is that possible?"

"The guards are looking into it."

"He's going to come after me," Jordan said, sitting down in one of the chairs in front of Topher's desk. "What if he goes after Erin? I swear to god, if he hurts my daughter, I will end him."

"I took the liberty of calling Gwen and sent her to the babysitter's to get Erin. I'm assuming she's one of the people on the emergency list?"

"She's right at the top since she's the closest to here." Jordan wiped away the tears that were starting to fall. "I just have to hope Gwen gets her before Marshall has the chance to."

-X-

"Did someone call for a special baby delivery?" Gwen asked ten minutes later, coming into the squad room holding Erin.

"Thank god," Jordan said, getting up from her desk. She walked over to where Gwen was standing and took Erin and breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks for doing this, Gwen. I didn't think anything like this was going to happen."

"That's what emergency contacts are for," Gwen said. "Let me know if you need anything else today. I'm working until three and then I'm off for the rest of the week." She handed Jordan Erin's diaper bag and gave her friend a serious look. "Don't do anything stupid. Got it?"

"Got it," Jordan said, placing a kiss on the top of Erin's head. She bit the inside of her lip as she watched Gwen leave the squad room before putting a fake smile on her face before turning around to see the looks on her team's faces. "Who needs baby pictures when you can see the real thing? She's definitely grown since the last time you all saw her," Jordan said, smoothing down part of her hair.

"You don't have to put on a brave face, babe," TC said, coming over to take Erin from Jordan.

"I'm not putting on a brave face," Jordan said, running a hand through her hair. "Marshall would be stupid to come to a police station if he's on the run. As long as I'm here, I don't have to worry as much. And having Erin come to work with me is the best way to spend my first day back." She took a deep breath and walked back over to her computer. She picked up a file folder and looked over it before looking back up, feeling everyone's eyes on her. "You guys, it's _fine_. Let's just all get back to work and pretend it's a completely normal day here."

-X-

"Did you see the weather report that showed the snowstorm coming through the area later?" Kenny asked a little after lunch. "It's going to be crazy."

"You all forget I'm from Ohio. Our definition of crazy is different from the Texas definition," Jordan said, looking up from one of the folders. "One year, there was a blizzard on my mom's birthday, and instead of the four of us staying in, we drove 15 miles to go to the mall to eat dinner."

"There's no way that's the truth," Drew said.

"It is the truth. My mom's birthday is a few days before Christmas, so after we had dinner, Caroline and I got our picture taken with Santa. I was in fourth grade and Caroline made me cry after the photo because she shattered my firmly held belief that mall Santas were just extra tall elves that the real Santa sent in his place," Jordan said with a slight laugh. "I can't make this stuff up." Jordan went back to one of the case files, seeing a weird note written on the side. "Hey, Drew, what's this note mean?"

Drew rolled his chair over to Jordan's desk and looked at it. "I don't know. I didn't write that." He took the file out of her hand and looked closer at it. "Looks like an old case number. You'll have to head to the archives."

"You did this on purpose, didn't you?" Jordan said, feeling a shiver run down her back. She hated going down to the archives that were in the basement of the building. It freaked her out every time she had to go down there.

"Cross my heart and hope to die, I had nothing to do with it. I don't even remember this case," Drew said, looking at the case number and the details of the case. "Maybe it's an older one."

"Okay." Jordan sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "I can't believe I'm voluntarily going down to the archives. The place that scares me the most."

"You'll be fine. What's the worst that's going to happen? A spider will crawl across the shelves?" TC asked.

"Don't even go there," Jordan said, feeling her skin crawl when he mentioned the spiders. "Krista, I trust that you can keep an eye on the three of them to make sure they won't corrupt my daughter?"

"I take offense to that," TC said. "I'm her father. If I want to corrupt her, I should be able to."

"Do you see what I mean?" Jordan asked, playfully rolling her eyes. "Wish me luck down there."

"You'll be fine, Jordan. No need to worry about anything. Just watch out for the spiders. I heard they've gotten bigger," Kenny said.

"You all suck." She grabbed the case file back from Drew and walked towards the elevators, pressing the down button as she waited for the archaic elevator to reach their floor. When it finally got there, she stepped in and hit the button for the basement, tapping her foot in vain, trying to get the elevator to move faster.

The doors to the elevator opened and she stepped out, looking at the case file to find the reference number. "33290," she whispered to herself, walking along the shelves, trying to find out where the file would be. "33290. 33290." She reached the last row and turned to her right and scanned the shelves to find the file. "33290," she said, squinting to make out some of the markings on the boxes.

"Looking for this one?" a familiar voice asked, causing Jordan to freeze. She slowly turned around and saw Dave Marshall standing there, holding the case file in his hand.

"What are you doing here?" she hissed.

"I just wanted to see you again. It was wonderful seeing you at the courthouse a few weeks ago, but you left too quickly. I just had to see you again."

"Look, just give me the case file and I won't tell anyone I saw you down here."

"But where's the fun in that? How will I know you're keeping your word?"

"Because I have no reason to lie," Jordan said, feeling her throat start to close up. "Just give me the file and no one has to know I saw you here."

"But that would be too easy. And then you'd have what you wanted and I wouldn't have anything I wanted."

"You'd be out of jail still," Jordan said, trying to figure out a way she could grab the file and outrun Marshall to the elevators.

He considered it for a minute. "And you wouldn't tell anyone I was here?"

"Not a soul," Jordan said.

He slowly held out his hand with the file in it. Wasting no time, Jordan grabbed the file and started fast walking towards the elevators, trying to keep herself looking forward so she wouldn't see what he was doing behind her. She pushed the up button multiple times and felt her heart speed up as she waited.

Feeling Marshall coming behind her, Jordan willed herself to keep facing the elevator doors and try to hide the tears that were starting to fall down her face. Suddenly, she saw a dirty rag come out of the corner of her eye and tried to duck out of the way, only for Marshall to grab her arm. He spun her to face him and pressed the rag against her face as Jordan tried to free herself.

"Fighting it is only going to make it worse," Marshall said. He waited until Jordan had dropped the case file and went limp before he picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. Walking back towards the shelves, he left the archives in the small door that he'd come in that morning to make the note on the case file.

-X-

"Jordan's been down in the archives for awhile. Do you think one of us should check on her?" Krista asked.

"I'll go," Drew said. "I could use a chance to stretch my legs anyway." He grabbed his phone and started walking towards the elevator when he stopped by TC's desk. "She is one cute kid. God thing she takes after Jordan and not you."

"Haha, very funny," TC said, crumpling a Post-It note up. He chucked it at Drew and turned to Erin, who had an amused look on her face. "Is your dad funny?" he asked.

"I thought that meant she had gas," Kenny said.

Drew stepped onto the elevator and pushed the button for the basement, waiting somewhat impatiently for the elevator to get move. When the lift groaned to a stop, Drew stepped out and noticed something was wrong. The first thing he saw was the two case files and laying a few feet away from them was a dirty rag. "Jordan?" he asked, stepping over the case files. "You still down here?"

He waited a few seconds for her to respond before he called out her name again. "If you're going to try and prank me, it's not funny," he said, walking farther back into the archives.

He looked around for a few minutes before running a hand on his head. He grabbed his phone from his pocket and called upstairs to his boss. "Toph, we've got a problem."

"What's going on?" Topher's voice asked through the phone.

"Jordan's been abducted."


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter Twenty-Three: Heart Was In My Hand**

 **Author's Note: This chapter takes place almost exclusively in TC's point of view and starts up a few days after Jordan's abduction. The flashbacks are in italics. As always, I don't own The Night Shift or any of its characters. The chapter title comes from My Heart Is Burning by Only Living Boy.**

"How hard is it to find a missing prisoner?" TC asked, pacing around the squad room a few days after Jordan was abducted. "Don't manhunts usually end sooner rather than later?"

"State troopers and the FBI are on it, T. They've notified the state police for neighboring states, too," Topher said. "I know this is easier said than done, but you need to relax. Being tense isn't going to help us find Jordan any faster."

"Where's Erin?" Kenny asked, trying to change the subject to something that would make TC a little more at ease.

"She's with my parents and Jordan's mom at our place. Is it possible for a three month old to realize something's going on? Because I think she can definitely tell something is wrong," TC said, running a hand through his hair. "I wish there was something I could be doing besides sitting here."

"T, we're going to find her," Drew said. "Besides, Jordan's tough. She's going to be just fine."

"You don't know that. We all know the statistics. What are the chances she's coming back alive?" TC looked at one of the pictures on his desk and picked it up, looking at a photo that he took of Erin and Jordan. "How am I going to explain to Erin that she got cheated out of getting to know her mother?"

"Okay, you're getting too far ahead of yourself," Topher said, intervening to stop a death spiral. "Why don't you take the rest of the day off and go spend time with Erin. If we hear anything, we'll give you a call. Sound good?"

"No, I'm staying here. I want to be right here when you get the call that's going to decide how my daughter grows up," TC said, crossing his arms across his chest.

Topher sighed and ran a hand over his head. "Fine. You can stay here. Just don't get involved with the case. We don't need an Internal Affairs investigation."

-X-

"Hi, honey," Kathleen said when TC got home from the police station. "Any news on Jordan?"

"If I had news on Jordan, I wouldn't be here," TC said, dropping his bag on the chair. "Where's Erin?"

"She was fussy earlier so Cecelia took her for a little car ride. Your dad went to get some food for dinner tonight, so it's just the two of us here for a little bit. I thought we could talk."

"I'm really not in the mood to talk, Mom. I just want to find my fiancée and make sure she's okay. Because this not knowing where she is and what Marshall is doing to her is killing me." He got up and walked over to the window and looked out it and sighed. "I haven't felt this on edge since the night of the shooting."

 _It was an unusually quiet night at the station when Thad and TC were pulling a double shift at the station, something that used to be easier said than done for the two of them._

 _The phone in the station started ringing and Thad answered it. "Callahan. Yeah, the older one." He grabbed a pen and started writing something down on the pad of paper he kept next to his computer keyboard. "Which mall?" He nodded to himself and tore off the top sheet and handed it to TC. "We'll be there in five. Let the officers on scene know."_

"Is there something I can do?" Kathleen asked.

"No. And that's what's terrible about everything," TC said.

-X-

"Do you want me to put Erin to bed?" Kathleen said after dinner while Cecelia was cleaning up. "I wouldn't mind doing it."

"No, I got it," TC said, picking Erin up from her highchair. "It's what I'd usually do even if Jordan was here. I want to try and keep Erin's routine as normal as possible."

"That's probably a good idea." Kathleen crossed her arms and looked out the window and the sleet that hitting the window. "Hopefully this Marshall guy has heat wherever he's keeping Jordan."

"He's a stalker, not a random abductor. He's going to try and make Jordan as comfortable as possible," TC said absentmindedly. "That's it," TC said, thinking about what he'd just said.

"What's it?" Kathleen asked.

"We've been taking the wrong approach to finding Jordan," TC said, walking into the living room. He sat Erin down in her bouncy seat and grabbed his phone from the corner of the couch, dialing Topher's number, hoping he'd be able to reach his boss.

"I hope this is important," Topher whispered. "I'm at Lynn's violin recital. And while I welcome the distraction, Janet's giving me the evil eye for taking the call."

"We've been going about the case wrong. We've been primarily looking at abandoned sites. But Marshall's obsessed with Jordan. He's not going to stick her somewhere abandoned. He's going to be somewhere where he can keep her comfortable."

"You're right. I'll call around and let everyone know. Good job, T."

"I'll head back to the station," TC said, already moving towards the coat rack to grab a jacket.

"No, you're staying home. Someone will call you when there's more to go off of," Topher said, hanging up the phone.

"Do you have a new lead?" Cecelia asked, coming out from the kitchen.

TC tightened his grip on his phone. "Kind of. They're not letting me anywhere near the investigation so I only know what Topher's telling me. And he only knows what the principal investigators are telling him. So I could know the whole truth, half of the truth or everything I know so far could be utter bullshit." He rubbed a spot on the back of his neck, trying to clear his head. "Anyway, I should get Erin to bed." He picked her up from the bouncy seat and bounced her a few times, causing her to giggle slightly. He kissed the top of her head and sighed. "Let's hope we can get your mom back in one piece."

-X-

That night, TC couldn't sleep and tossed and turned all night. He couldn't get rid of the thoughts of the night Thad was killed and, even though he told himself the situations were different, he couldn't shake the thought that if Jordan didn't make it out alive that this would be his fault too.

" _Alright, they're sending both of us in the south entrance of the mall," Thad said, coming over to the car. "As soon as we get in, you go to the left and I'll go to the right. You cover everything up to the fountain. That's where everyone's meeting up."_

" _I'm covering that whole part of the mall by myself? Thad, that's the biggest section of the mall."_

" _You're always talking about wanting to move up in the ranks. This could be your chance, little brother. Come on, let's go," he said._

 _The two of them started walking to the mall entrance. They got to the door and TC gripped the handle, turning to Thad. "You ready to do this?"_

" _Hold on," Thad said, grabbing his walkie talkie. "You're right, there's a lot of your side to cover. I'll go with you. We'll go in when we can get some more backup."_

"It's not going to be the same," TC said, rolling over onto his side to look at Jordan's empty side of the bed. "I'm going to find you, babe. I promise."

-X-

"Hey, TC," Krista said, coming into one of the interrogation rooms the next morning. "There's someone in the squad room wanting to see you."

TC turned around in the chair he was sitting in and turned to face Krista. "I'm kinda in the middle of something here," he said, gesturing to the prep that was brought in overnight.

"She says she's Jordan's sister. Caroline, I think."

"I got this," Kenny whispered to TC. "Go talk to Caroline."

"Thanks," TC said, getting up from the chair he was sitting in. "Krista, always lead with the family. Got it?" he asked, shutting the door to the interrogation room. "Sorry, that sounded a little harsh."

"It's fine. You're under a lot of stress. Want me to listen in on the conversation and fill you in on what you miss?"

"That'd be great." TC walked into the squad room and saw a disheveled looking Caroline. "Caroline," he said, walking slowly over to where she was standing.

"Oh, TC," she said, turning around to look at him. "You look terrible. Are you not getting any sleep?"

TC laughed slightly to himself. "Between Jordan's abduction and a newborn? I can't remember the last time I had a full night of sleep."

"I know what you mean. I thought about bringing Nora and Bridget down here, but Nick said to keep them at home. I told him it wouldn't matter; I wouldn't get much sleep anyway." Caroline sighed and ran her hand through her hair. "I wish I was getting to meet my new niece under better circumstances. Is she back at the house?"

"Yeah, she's there with your mom and my parents. They've all been a big help."

Caroline nodded and rubbed at one of her eyes. "I can't help but think this whole thing is my fault. If she had just listened to me when I told her she hadn't met James, this whole thing could have been avoided."

"Don't think like that," TC said as his phone started ringing. "Look, someone's calling me on my personal phone. That might be some good news. Sit tight," TC said, walking over to his desk to get his cell phone off the desk. "What's going on, Toph?"

"We might have found a potential place that Marshall's been holding Jordan. Stay put at the police station and I'll let you know more when we know more."

"Where's it at?"

"I'm not telling you that. Stay put," Topher commanded.

" _Stay put," TC heard Thad say when the two of them saw someone wearing a police uniform start walking to the door._

" _What are you doing?"_

" _Just stay there," Thad said, slowly opening the door to the mall. He started talking with the officer when TC heard shots go off through the mall and saw his brother and the other officer fall to the ground._

"TC!" Caroline said, trying to get his attention. "Did you hear me?"

"No, sorry, I was thinking about something else. What did you ask?"

"Was that an update about Jordan?" she asked, looking closer at TC. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Um, yeah, Topher might know where she is. I'll be right back. Feel free to sit wherever. Do you want coffee or something?"

"I'm fine. Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine," TC snapped. "Sorry, I'm just a little on edge right now. I'll be back," he said, walking to the bathroom. He threw open the door and went straight to the sinks, where he turned the cold water on high and just listened to the sound of the water run. He put his hands under the water and splashed some on his face, trying to calm himself down.

He heard his phone start ringing again and he reached into his back pocket and pulled it out. "Toph?"

"We got her, T. She's on her way to San Antonio Memorial."

"You got her?" TC echoed.

"We got her. Meet us over there. We're on our way."

-X-

"Where is she?" TC asked, bursting through the doors of the emergency room.

"She's in the ICU," Mollie said. "Whatever he did to her, he was rough."

"Can I go see her?"

"Yeah, I'll take you up. Gwen's in there with her now."

TC nodded and turned around to Caroline. "Do you wanna come up?"

"No, you can go see her. I'm gonna head over to your place and give an update. Let me know if you want me to bring Erin by at some point."

"Thanks, Caroline." He followed Mollie over to the elevators and ran his hand through his hair, taking a deep breath. "Did you see her?"

"Briefly when she was brought in. Marshall did a number on her. It proves Jordan's a fighter." They stepped into the elevator and Mollie pushed one of the buttons. "She's going to be okay, TC. I have no doubt in my mind about it."

"I really hope you're right, Mollie." The doors opened and they stepped out, walking towards the room Jordan was in.

"She's in here, TC," Mollie said, stopping outside one of the doors. "Let me know if you need anything. I mean it," she said, giving him a stern look.

He nodded and opened the door, seeing Gwen sitting in one of the chairs by Jordan's bed. She looked up when she heard the door open and sighed when she saw TC. "Our girl's been through a lot." She brushed some of the hair off of Jordan's face and tucked some pieces behind her ear. "How much did Topher tell you?"

"He didn't tell me anything. What do you know?"

"How much do you want to know?"

TC sat down in the chair next to Gwen and reached out and took Jordan's hand. "Only the important stuff."

"From what I've heard, he was keeping her in some shack that he bought before he was arrested. Your tip about the heating was right. It was leased under Alexander Jameson and regular payments had been received since it was leased. That's how the heat was able to be kept on."

"You know more," TC said, looking at Gwen. "What aren't you saying?"

"There was one room in the shack that didn't have any ventilation. It was…bad. When SWAT raided the shack, they killed Marshall and found Jordan passed out in there. Well, actually, it was Drew who found Jordan there," Gwen said, her voice squeaking on the last part. "She's in a coma right now."

"She's gotta be okay," TC said, standing up. He started pacing the room. "She's gotta be okay."


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter Twenty-Four: Leave Me To Dream**

 **Author's Note: So just like how last chapter was primarily TC's point of view, this one is what's been happening to Jordan. The flashbacks in the chapter are in italics. As always, I don't own The Night Shift or any of its characters. The chapter title is from Dream by Imagine Dragons.**

There was something in the back of Jordan's mind that told her to keep her eyes shut when she felt herself starting to wake up. She tried to keep her breathing even so Dave Marshall wouldn't expect anything was different.

"You're starting to wake up," Marshall said, looking over at Jordan. _So much for that_ , Jordan thought to herself. "Open your eyes," he said, running a hand across Jordan's cheek. "Open them," he said a little harsher.

Jordan blinked a few times and looked around, trying to get a bearing on her surroundings. "Where am I?"

"You don't need to know that, sweetheart. Look, I have to go somewhere and I don't want anyone seeing you in public. So I have to leave you here. Be a good girl like you always are. Except for that night in the hotel." He took her hands and helped her stand up. "And so you won't run away, I have a special place for you to go." He led her over to a bed and pushed her down on it.

"What are you doing?" Jordan asked, feeling her heart start to speed up.

"I'm just making sure you won't leave. Lay down," he said, pushing down on her shoulders. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pair of handcuffs and put one of them on Jordan's right hand and put the other cuff on the bedpost. "This way I know you'll be here when I get back." He tried to kiss Jordan on her forehead and she jerked out of the way. "You're a little feisty still. We'll have to fix that when I get back." He blew her a kiss and walked out of the room, leaving Jordan handcuffed to the bed.

Jordan waited until she heard the door shut before she sat up in the bed and tried to get to work getting herself uncuffed. Much to her dismay, Marshall had done a decent job at putting the cuffs on her. "Damn it," she said, running her free head across her face. She took a deep breath and shook her head. "They're going to find you. They're going to find you," Jordan repeated to herself.

 _Jordan snapped the book she was reading shut and threw it across the room, almost accidentally hitting Gwen she opened the door to their dorm room. "You okay?" Gwen asked, picking up the book to see what Jordan was reading. "Jordan, I thought we established that you don't start reading this book until you've eaten something."_

" _I did eat before I read the book. But it still pisses me off. How could a justice system that's theoretically supposed to provide justice fail a group of victims so badly?"_

" _I don't know. I wish I had an answer for you. But that's why you're going to be a great journalist someday. You're going to advocate for these victims and you're going to get them the justice they deserve._

" _I just feel like I could be doing more for them." She started tapping her pen on her notebook when she got an idea. "Maybe I'll switch my major."_

" _What? Jordan, that's crazy. Isn't it too late for that?"_

" _I don't think so. I'll go out to the offices tomorrow and I'll see if I can switch from journalism to something else. Criminal justice could work." She started tapping the pen against the paper even harder. "I'm going to do something about it."_

-X-

"I'm back!" Marshall said when he got back to wherever he was holding Jordan hostage. "I'm going to let you out of the handcuffs now, okay? If you try to run away or scream, I'm going to have to hurt you. And I really don't want to hurt you." He walked over to the bed, grabbed the cuff keys from his pocket and unlocked them, releasing Jordan from her restraints. "Did you miss me?" he asked, running a hand over her cheek.

Jordan's eyes narrowed. "In your dreams."

"That's not what I want to hear," Marshall said, gripping Jordan's hair and tugging on it. "You've gotta be nicer to me or you're not going to like what happens."

"It's not too late, you know," Jordan said. "You can let me go and no one will know a thing. But that's about to run out of time. Any moment now, the squad is going to know what you've done."

"Shhhh," he said, running a finger over Jordan's mouth. "No one's going to find you, Jordan. Not for a long while. That's what's brilliant about my plan."

-X-

A few days later, Jordan had one of her hands cuffed to the leg and a chair, keeping her there as they ate dinner. "You haven't said anything during dinner. Is everything okay, babe?"

Jordan's eyes narrowed as she stabbed at a tomato on her plate, imagining that the tomato was Marshall. "Don't call me that."

Marshall took a deep breath and pushed his chair back, walking over to where Jordan was sitting. He yanked her hair back so she would look him in the eyes. "Don't talk to me like that," he said harshly. "You and I are going to be together, whether you like it or not."

Jordan gripped her fork. "We're not going to be together."

"You better watch your mouth or you're going back into the chamber."

Jordan tried to keep her face neutral when she was screaming on the inside. The chamber was a place where Marshall would lock her in an unventilated room and would leave her there until she passed out.

" _Wait, you're switching your major?" Jordan's mom said over the phone one day. "I thought you wanted to be a journalist and be a writer like your dad was."_

" _I know. And I realized that I'm never going to get out of dad's shadow if I became a writer. Part of the reason I wanted to be a journalist was so that I could make some form of a difference in the world," Jordan said, switching the ear her phone was pressed against as she walked through campus. "I just wanted you to know and to get your blessing about it."_

" _Sweetie, you don't need my blessing. But thanks for letting me know. You, my dear, are going to make a difference in whatever you decided to do."_

Jordan wasn't sure why the memory just popped into her head but she looked up at Marshall and gave him a cheeky smile. "Fine. Put me in the chamber."

She saw Marshall's face twist into a smile and felt her one hand get freed from the cuffs. "If you insist."

-X-

Jordan wasn't sure how long she'd been asleep for, but when she woke up, she felt like she was in massive amounts of pain and her throat was on fire. She looked at her arm and saw burn marks on her right arm that extended to her shoulder. She took a deep breath and the air hurt her throat as she tried to breathe.

"You took that one like a champ," Marshall said, sitting in the chair that looked directly at the bed. "You were in the chamber for ten minutes. Did you learn your lesson?"

Jordan shook her head, unsure if she'd be able to talk. She sent a silent prayer hoping that TC or, hell, _anyone_ at this point would come find her.

"No?" Marshall asked, lighting a cigarette. "Do you want a smoke?" he asked, holding out the pack to her. "Although, you probably shouldn't smoke since you have an adorable baby girl at home. I can't wait to get my hands on her and we can start our own little family."

Jordan's nostrils flared. "Don't…don't go near her," Jordan said, her voice raspy.

"You're right, maybe I should leave her with TC. That way you won't miss your old life too much. Then we can focus on making our little family." He walked over to the bed and sat down next to her. "I think we should have three kids. Two boys and one girl. And our little girl is going to be just like you," he said, running a hand over her stomach.

"Don't touch me," she hissed, instinctively moving away from him.

"Hey now," Marshall said, taking the cigarette out of his mouth. He held it in his hands and looked at Jordan. "That's no way to talk to me," he leaned closer to Jordan. "I'd be really careful with how you talk to me." He put the still lit cigarette on Jordan's skin, smiling when she hissed at the pain. "Now, I know you're just now starting to wake up from being in the chamber again, but I have somewhere I have to be. So I'm gonna have to stick you back in there. I don't know how long I'll be gone so you may be in there for awhile."

Jordan felt her heart start to slow down. She was feeling incredibly run down from the last few days and didn't know how much longer she'd be able to hold on.

"Come on, let's get you back to the chamber." He grabbed her and pulled her off the bed, leading her back to the chamber. He threw her in there and shut the door. "I'll try to hurry back for you."

Jordan waited until she heard the door click shut and heard the lock get change before she let the tears she'd been holding back start to fall. "I'm so sorry, T. Please keep our promise to Erin." She wiped away at the tears on her cheeks and took a deep breath. "I tried, T. I tried so hard. But I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry." She started twisting her hands together. "And Erin, I want you to know I tried so hard to hold on for you. You're such a sweet little girl and I've cherished the time I've gotten to spend with you." She felt her breath get caught in her throat. "I'm never going to forget you."

She heard a crash upstairs and she sat up slightly, trying to figure out where it came from. She heard voices – voices that were somewhat familiar to her. "T?" she asked weakly. She started coughing and spit and saw red. Blood. "I'm here, T." She coughed up more blood and laid her head down on the ground. "I'm right here."

She felt her body start to relax and felt the pain start to go away. She felt like she was floating above her body and, for the first time in a few days, felt like she didn't have a thing to worry about.

"There's something down here," she heard a familiar voice say. She heard blinds open and heard someone hit something.

The door opened and someone stepped in. "I found Jordan!" a familiar voice called out.

Drew.

"Hey," Drew said, kneeling down to where Jordan was crumbled on the ground. "We've got you, Jordan. We're going to get you out of here and we're going to get you to the hospital and you're going to be fine." He reached down and grabbed her wrist, checking for a pulse.

"D…rew?"

"I'm right here, Jordan. I'm not going anywhere."

"T-tell T…I love," she took a breath and felt everything around her go black.

-X-

When she woke up, she was in an unnaturally bright white room. She looked around, trying to get her bearings but instead was shocked by what she saw. She squinted and gasped. "Dad?"


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter Twenty-Five: We Can Get It Back**

 **Author's Note: Hi everyone! This story is starting to wind down and I'm really excited to share the last few chapters with you all. This chapter is split between Jordan and TC and there's also flashbacks, which are in italics. As always, I don't own The Night Shift or any of its characters. The chapter title comes from In No Time by Mutemath, which is also the song from the season one finale when TC has his breakdown.**

When Jordan woke up, she was in an unnaturally bright white room. She looked around, trying to get her bearings but instead was shocked by what she saw. She squinted and gasped. "Dad?"

The figure smiled at her and walked over to where she was sitting. "Hi Jordan."

"What are you doing here?"

"I should be asking you that question. This is the in between."

"The in between?" she asked, raising her eyebrow. "Am I dead?"

"Not quite. That's why you're here."

"If I'm not dead, then why are you here? Because I know you're dead."

Her dad laughed slightly. "There's the Jordan I know. You should have been a journalist."

"Dad…"

He took a deep breath and sighed. "You're in between because you have a choice to make. You have to decide if you want to move on or stay alive."

"Easy. I want to be alive. I want to stay with TC and Erin." Jordan paused. "You don't know about my life anymore, do you?"

"Of course I know what's going on in your life. I know about your life and your sister's life and your mom's life and your brother's. Your actual brother."

-X-

"How's she doing?" Gwen asked, coming into Jordan's room when her shift was done.

TC sat up in his chair and ran a hand through his hair. "She's still in a coma but the doctors said it's likely she'll come out of it sometime today or early tomorrow."

Gwen nodded as she looked at Jordan's chart. "You need me to take Erin for the night?"

"She's at the house with my parents. I wanted to keep her on schedule as much as possible. I'm gonna bring her by tomorrow when I stop by the house for a change of clothes."

"T, when was the last time you got sleep? No offense but you look like hell."

"That's what Cecelia said when she was here earlier," TC said, laughing slightly. "I just don't want to miss her waking up," he said, taking her hand.

-X-

"Why didn't you tell us about James? Is that even his real name?"

"I didn't want you and your sister to look at me any differently. It may have come back to bite me in the ass though."

"How much does mom know?"

"She knows I had an affair and that I have a son. But she didn't want you to meet him until you both were older. And then I died and you never got to meet him until now. Well, I guess Caroline met him. You still need to meet him."

"As long as he won't end up stalking me, I think we'll be fine," Jordan said. She sighed gently and felt a warm sensation in her hand. "What was that?"

"That means someone's holding your hand."

Jordan smiled to herself. "I bet the whole squad is in the waiting room. When they're not at the station, that is." She tucked her hair behind her ear. "Are you proud of me?"

"I am in awe of you and your sister every day. I love seeing the women the two of you are becoming. And getting to look after you and my grandkids is just a dream come true."

-X-

"You know," Gwen said, sitting in a chair next to TC. "I remember when I first came to San Antonio and we all went out to celebrate. Because you guys wanted to show me a true San Antonio night."

"I remember parts about that night," TC said, running a hand through his hair. "And I remember my hangover I had the next day."

"We all had them the next day. Except for Jordan. I swear, I don't know how she does it."

" _Thanks for taking me out and showing me what San Antonio is like!" Gwen said to Jordan, yelling over the music in the nightclub._

" _No problem. You needed this._ We _needed this," Jordan said. "When was the last time we had a night to ourselves anyway?"_

" _True! I'm going to get something else to drink. Do you want something?"_

" _I'll come with you," Jordan said, brushing some of the hair off her face._

 _The two of them walked over to the bar and Jordan accidentally ran into someone. "Sorry. T!" she said, her face lighting up. "Gwen, this is TC, my partner at the station. TC, this is my best friend Gwen and hopefully a new medical examiner at San Antonio Memorial."_

" _I didn't know you were coming here tonight. This is where the guys from the lab and the squad came. If we knew you were here, we all could have hung out."_

" _Don't worry about it," Jordan said, smiling at him. "We're getting more drinks, do you want something?"_

" _I'll get this round."_

"Jordan should always be cut off once she starts drinking Long Islands," Gwen said, laughing slightly to herself. "There was one day we were at a party to celebrate the end of the year, and Jordan drank an entire six pack on her own and then took three shots of whiskey on an almost empty stomach. I've never seen her be so sick before." Gwen sighed and took her hand. "She's going to have to be okay."

-X-

"Dad?" Jordan asked, turning to face him, noticing he was starting to look a little blurry. "Is there a certain time I have to decide to go back? Because I really want to spend more time with you."

"It's going to have to be soon. But just always know I'm with you and I'm watching over you." He reached out and touched his daughter's cheek. "I love you so much, Jordan."

Jordan watched as he started to fade even more. "Where do I go?"

"I'm going this way," he said, pointing in one direction. "You can't follow me. Go that way," he said, pointing in the other direction. "Erin is truly beautiful," he said, completely disappearing.

Jordan swallowed thickly and turned towards the direction that her dad had pointed in before he disappeared. "I love you, Dad," Jordan said, walking in the opposite direction of her father.

-X-

Gwen felt Jordan's hand twitch and she turned to look at her. "I think she's about to wake up," Gwen said. She heard her pager go off and sighed. "There's an emergency down in the morgue. I'll be back up as soon as I can."

TC nodded and turned his attention back to Jordan. "Come on, Jor. I know you can hear me. Just wake up so I know it'll be okay."

" _I'm looking for Captain Topher Zia?" a brunette said, walking into the squad room. TC, Kenny and Drew all looked up from the case file they were looking at and looked at the visitor in the station._

" _He's in a meeting with Internal Affairs. We can take your information and give it to him if you want," Drew said._

" _I don't have a case. Um, I'm new here. My name's Jordan and I'm the new detective." Jordan watched as one of the guys who was sitting at a desk get up and brush past her without a word, slamming the door as he left the squad room._

" _Don't mind him," the other guy in the squad room said. "The last guy who was here was his brother and died. He's just not ready for someone to replace him."_

"God, Jordan, I wish I hadn't been such a jackass to you when we first met. I didn't want to get close to someone else after what happened to Thad. But I'm so glad I did. You're the best thing that has ever happened in my life. Well, you and Erin are. I don't want to raise our little girl without you. So just wake up for me, babe. Wake up for me."

TC heard a gasp and then a choking noise and looked down to see Jordan woke up. He reached over and pressed the call button, waiting almost impatiently for the doctors to come into the room.

One of them took their stethoscope off and listened to her heart and her lungs and looked up at TC. "She sounds good. We just have to take the tubing out of her throat. Can you step back for us?"

"Yeah. I'm just going to be outside," TC said, taking his phone out of his pocket as he called Cecelia.

"Please tell me you have good news," Cecelia said when she answered the phone.

"She's awake."

-X-

"You look like you need to sleep," Jordan said a few hours later, looking over at TC from her hospital bed. "I'd gladly give up my hospital bed for you."

TC smiled at her and got up and kissed her on the forehead. "Not a chance. I'm not sleeping until you're home safely with me and Erin."

"When I was in the coma, I had a dream, I guess you could call it," Jordan said, swallowing thickly. "I was with my dad and he said Erin's beautiful."

"Can't argue with that. Speaking of Erin, she should be coming here anytime now." TC said, looking down at Jordan, smiling when he saw her face light up.

"You and Erin are the reason I'm alive," Jordan said, twisting her engagement ring on her finger. "Did you bring the ring to the hospital with you?"

"Yeah. I wanted you to have it on while you were here. In case I wasn't here when you woke up. I wanted you to know I was here."

Jordan shifted her sitting position and leaned up to kiss TC. "I love you so much," she whispered, running a hand down his cheek.

The two of them heard the door open and Jordan looked over, feeling her breath catch in her throat when she saw her mom come into the room, holding Erin in her arms. "Mom…" Jordan said, feeling tears come to her eyes.

"I'm so glad you're okay," Cecelia said, sitting on the side of the bed that TC wasn't sitting on. "I was so worried about you." She handed Erin to Jordan and kissed her daughter on the forehead. "I'm so glad you're okay," she whispered again.

"Me too, Mom. Me too."

-X-

"Go home and get some sleep," Jordan said to TC when her mom was getting ready to take Erin home to put her to bed. "I'll be here in the morning. I promise."

"Are you sure? I'm fine staying another night…"

"Go home," Jordan said with a little more force. "Mom, make sure he gets some sleep tonight."

"I'll try my best," she said, smiling at Jordan. "We'll be by tomorrow morning. You need to try and get some sleep too."

"I feel like sleep is all I've been doing lately," Jordan said, leaning back against the pillows. She watched her mom, TC and Erin leave the hospital room and she sighed.

"Hey," she heard someone say behind her. She felt her spine stiffen and turned around and saw Dave Marshall standing there. "Did you miss me?"

"You're not real," she said, feeling her heart start to beat faster and the heart monitor started to beat faster. "You're not real!" she yelled, throwing a pillow in the direction where Marshall had been standing.

"Hey, Jordan, calm down," Gwen said, coming into the hospital room.

"I swear he was here," Jordan said, trying to take a few deep breaths. "I saw him here."

"I know," Gwen said, reaching out to take Jordan's hand. She gave it a small squeeze and looked her best friend in the eye. "I hate to tell you this, but moment's like the one you just had are going to happen for awhile."

"Really?"

"Yeah," Gwen said. "When I first came to San Antonio, I had terrible nightmares that I'd wake up one morning and find Jake here. And when I stopped having nightmares, I'd think I'd see him on street corners."

"You never told me that."

"I know. It never really seemed like the appropriate time. But now it does," Gwen said, sitting next to Jordan on the bed. "I'm sure everyone's telling you this, but I'm really glad you're okay. I don't know what I'd do without my best friend in my life."

"I'm glad I'm okay too. I still feel like I haven't done enough good in the world."

"Trust me, Jordan, you've done so much good in this world. Don't ever forget that."


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter Twenty-Six: No One Here To Blame**

 **Author's Note: This chapter is fairly short and fairly fluffy as a way to try and balance out the last few chapters. As always, I don't own The Night Shift or any of its characters. The chapter title comes from Adia by Sarah McLachlan.**

"How are you doing today?" Mollie asked, coming into Jordan's hospital room a few days later.

"I would feel better if I was going home. Come on, Mollie, work your magic. Will you please tell the doctors that I'm fine?"

Mollie raised her eyebrow at looked at Jordan's chart and her stats. "Well, you have improved a lot over the last few days."

"Yeah. Because I want to go home. I want to be in my own bed with my family and I want to start to plan my wedding. I want to get back to work. Not be stuck in a dreary hospital."

"Well, lucky for you, I'm about to bring the doctor in here to talk about discharging you."

"Really?" Jordan asked, trying not get her hopes up.

"Yes, really. I'm not going to lie to you about possibly getting discharged. You are one of the better patients I've had, after all."

"Thank you, Mollie," Jordan said sincerely. She leaned back against the hospital pillows and sighed contently. She was finally going to be able to go home and start to put everything behind her. For good this time.

She leaned back against the pillow and started twisting at her engagement ring. She hadn't started doing any wedding planning since her and TC got engaged and that was almost six months ago. She wanted to get a move on it and marry the love of her life as soon as possible.

She heard the hospital door open and looked up to see Caroline coming in her room. "So, I have a question for you," Caroline said, hovering by the door. "James is here. The real one, that is. If you want to meet him, you can. If not, I'll send him away. Tell me what you want to do."

Jordan scratched her forehead and sat up in bed. "He's our half-brother. You're sure about it."

"A thousand percent sure. I wouldn't bring him here if I wasn't sure. Besides, it helps when your husband has serious leverage."

"Okay," she said, sighing. "I guess I'll meet him."

"Great, that's what I was hoping to hear." She turned around and motioned to someone outside the door. "James, this is Jordan, your other half-sister. Jordan, this is James. The real one, that is."

"Hi, Jordan. I'm excited to finally meet you. Caroline told me a lot about you."

"It's nice to meet you too. And meet the real you, this time."

"I heard about what happened. That must have really sucked."

"That doesn't even begin to describe it. I—" She heard the door open again and looked over to see TC come in with Erin. "Hey, babe. This is James. The real one. James, this is my fiancé, TC Callahan and my daughter, Erin. You have another niece."

"It wasn't enough to just have the two," James said, with a slightly uncomfortable laugh. "It's nice to meet you, TC," he said, sticking out his hand.

"Nice to meet you too," TC said. "You staying in town for long?"

"No, I've got stuff to do back in California. I just wanted to stop through and finally meet my other big sister. And apparently my niece and brother-in-law."

"Future brother-in-law," Jordan corrected. "We haven't even set a date yet." She started twisting her engagement ring again. "We really need to do that."

"Just tell me the date and I'll make sure I show up, tuxedo and all," TC said, kissing the top of her head.

The door opened again and Mollie stepped in, holding a clipboard in her hands. "It's official, you can leave us now."

"Oh thank god," Jordan said, holding out her hand for the clipboard. She skimmed the papers and signed her name at the bottom of the pages, allowing her to be finally discharged from the hospital.

"Now, there's a few things the doctor wants to make sure you know. You're not cleared for duty yet, so until then, you're on desk duty. He already called Topher at the station and told him that."

"Desk duty is what got me here, Mollie. I haven't seen anything fun in six months."

"Take it up with the doctor, not me, missy."

Jordan sighed and started getting up from bed. "Anything else I need to be aware of? Or can I start to get back to my normal life?"

"Just take it easy, Jordan. I don't want to see you in a hospital bed for a long time." Mollie looked over at TC and Erin. "That adorable little girl needs a mom in her life."

"I couldn't agree more, Mollie," Jordan said, starting to get out of bed.

-X-

"Welcome home, Jordan!" Kathleen, Marcus and Cecelia said when Jordan opened the door.

"Thanks, guys," Jordan said, setting down Erin's baby carrier. She felt tears come to her eyes unexpectedly and she brushed them away. "It really means a lot to me that you all came here to help while I was gone. It's nice to know that someone else was keeping their eyes on TC and Erin."

"That's what grandmothers are for," Cecelia said as Kathleen nodded in agreement. "We're all glad you're okay."

"So, uh, I hope you're up for a small get-together later," TC said. "Topher and Janet are throwing you a welcome home party. Family and friends only, of course. We made sure of that."

"Yeah, of course. The team's been pretty good at giving us some space since I've been in the hospital. It'll be good to see them and to assure them I'm really okay."

-X-

"Oh, Jordan," Janet said, opening the door to her and Topher's house a few hours later. "I'm so glad you're okay!" she said, giving her a hug.

"Thanks, Janet."

She stepped to the side and let the two of them into the house. "Everyone's out back. Topher's on grill duty for the night so you know everything's going to be edible." She spotted the Tupperware containers that TC was holding. "What's that?"

"We didn't want to show up empty handed so my mom, Cecelia and Jordan made some desserts earlier," TC said.

"And TC tried to taste test everything because for some reason, he wouldn't believe me when I said it was edible. You'd think he'd trust his mother, fiancé and future mother-in-law but I guess not," Jordan said lightly.

"And to think I raised him better than that," Kathleen said.

They opened the door to the backyard and stepped out. "Your mom didn't want to come?" Janet asked Jordan.

"No, she's flying back to Ohio tonight. Caroline might stop by a little later, though. She's got an early flight out tomorrow morning so she wanted to at least pack before coming."

"Makes sense," Janet said, taking the containers of desserts from TC. She put them on one of the tables and looked at the squad, who was all gathered outside.

"Jordan, you get the first burger," Topher said, putting some of the patties down on the grill. "How do you want yours?"

"Medium well. No cheese."

"Coming right up," Topher said. "You're lucky. No one else gets temperature control on their burgers."

"Perks of being the guest of honor," Jordan said, sitting down on one of the deck chairs next to Gwen.

"It's good to see you outside of the hospital," Gwen said, rummaging through her purse. "This came in the mail today." She handed a thick envelope to Jordan. "It's the official divorce papers. It's finally over."

"Thank goodness," Jordan said. "I just hope you're not totally against weddings and marriage. Because I do need my maid of honor to help me start planning a wedding."

"Well of course. Is it finally time to start planning the wedding?"

"Yes, it's finally time. Things are finally starting to slow down. And it's what I needed."

"So you're going to celebrate things slowing down by stressing yourself out over planning a wedding?"

"Exactly. Would you expect anything less from me?" She looked over at Kenny, TC and Drew all talking to each other. "Do you think it's going to happen for you again?"

"Oh definitely," Gwen said, looking in the same direction. "I've already found the guy for me. It's going to happen sooner or later."

"The two of you really work together," Janet said, sitting down next to the two of them. "I've seen how you interact with each other. It's true love."

"True love. I like the sound of that," Gwen said.

-X-

"We're going to take off for back home in the morning," Marcus said when they got back to TC and Jordan's place after the party.

"Are you sure? You're welcome to stay longer," Jordan said.

"We're sure," Kathleen said. "Though, when it's time for you to pick out your wedding dress, I'll be right back here. I wouldn't miss that for the world."

"Sounds like a plan," Jordan said, smiling. "Thank you both so much. You've been such a big help these last few months."


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter Twenty-Seven: The World Will Know You're Name**

 **Author's Note: Here's the next chapter! This fic is starting to wind down, so here's one of the last chapters. As always, I don't own The Night Shift or any of its characters. The chapter title comes from Angels on the Moon by Thriving Ivory.**

"So, how do you feel?" Kenny asked Jordan a few months later, coming up to her and sitting at the edge of her desk.

"Nervous." She looked at her phone for the hundredth time since she'd gotten to work a few hours before hand.

In exactly two hours and three minutes, she'd be sitting in a room down at Internal Affairs, taking an exam with other detectives in the hope of becoming a sergeant.

Nervous didn't even begin to describe how she felt.

"You know," Drew said, sliding over in his chair, "This should be like nothing for you. Considering everything you've gone through in the last year."

"What a crazy year it's been. It doesn't seem like a year ago I was sitting in the interrogation room crying about having a stalker," Jordan said. "It's a corny saying, but a lot really does change in a year."

"Well, you know, you also went from being single to having a fiancé and a baby at home too," TC said.

"I wasn't completely single though. Scott and I were dating then."

"Who's Scott?" Krista asked.

"Our old ADA. He left a few months before you joined the team," Jordan said, checking the time on her phone again.

Two hours and two minutes until the exam started.

"You were dating Scott?" TC asked, slightly incredulously. "Why didn't I know that?"

"Because you had far too many other things to worry about. Who I was dating was the least of your concerns." Jordan heard someone come into the squad room and looked up to see Ragosa coming in.

"How's everything going in here today?" he asked, looking around, noticing no one was really working on a case. "Callahan, I need to have a conversation with you. Immediately."

"Uh oh, T," Topher said, coming out of his office when he saw Ragosa coming into the squad room. "What did you do this time?"

"Detective Callahan isn't in any trouble. The two of us just need to have a conversation about something." His eyes landed on Jordan. "Good luck on your sergeant's exam later, detective." He walked out of the squad room with everyone's eyes following him out.

"What's he want?" Drew asked.

"No clue," TC said, pushing back his chair so he could stand up. He walked out the door and walked over to where Ragosa was standing. "What's going on?"

"I have a bit of time sensitive situation I need to talk to you about. But it has to stay between the two of us for the time being. Do you understand?"

TC nodded and leaned against the wall as Ragosa started talking.

-X-

An alarm on Jordan's phone started going off a little while later and she took a deep breath. "Okay, you guys, it's time for me to head out. Wish me luck!"

"Good luck, Jordan," Topher said. "I'm looking forward to you becoming a sergeant for the squad."

"So am I. Hopefully they'd let me stay with the squad, but I don't know if they'd let me stay here with TC being on the squad. We'll see though." She grabbed her bag and her keys and turned to TC. "Did you still want to ride over with me?"

"Wish I could, but I've got some stuff I need to get done here, though. Good luck."

"Oh. Okay. I'll see you all later then." She walked out the door and out to her car. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

She could do this.

All throughout her drive down to the bureau, she mentally quizzed herself about what she'd learned and crammed for the test. She could do it.

She got to the plaza where the bureau was and rushed inside, hoping she'd be able to some last minute studying before the exam started.

-X-

"So, how high up on the list do we think Jordan's going to be?" Kenny asked, looking at his watch. The exam had ended five minutes ago, which meant Jordan would be back within a matter of minutes.

"What list?" Krista asked, looking up from a file she was looking at for a case.

"If you do well enough on a city test, you get put on a list that compares you with other people who took the test in the state," Drew said. "My bet is somewhere in the top 50. Easily."

"It's a good thing Jordan's not in here now to hear you talking about it," TC said. "You all know how she gets. If she hears you talking about something good, she'll think the opposite's going to happen and then she'll think you're jinxing her chances."

"No one better be jinxing my chances," Jordan said, coming back into the squad room.

"How'd it go?" Topher asked.

Jordan sighed. "It was rough. I don't know if I passed. I don't want to think about it."

"Is this one of those things where you pretend it went really bad but then tell us you're joking?" Kenny asked.

"No, it's one of those things where I'm being serious and think I royally fucked it up." Not wanting to think about it any longer, Jordan grabbed the file folder she left on her desk before she left for her exam and started doing more work on it.

"Well, you'll know how you did in a week and I'm sure you did just fine," Topher said, trying to reassure her.

-X-

"So, what did Ragosa want earlier?" Jordan asked, giving Erin a bottle when they got home from work.

"Oh, just to talk about what would happen if you were sergeant. One of us would have to leave the squad and go somewhere else."

"I mean, it would make more sense if I was the one to leave, right?" When TC didn't respond, she looked up at him and saw the look on his face. "What did you do?"

"I can't talk about it right now," TC said.

"Um, no, I think you can talk about it. You did something. I can tell by the look on your face. What did you do?"

"I may have told Ragosa that I could transfer out if it came down to it."

Jordan studied TC's face. "There's more that you're not telling me."

"Look, Jordan, I don't think this is an appropriate conversation to be having right now. Everything's just speculation at the moment. We don't know what's going to happen and what's not going to happen."

"I really don't like the sound of that, T." She put the bottle on the coffee table in front of her and started to burp Erin. "I mean, as long as it's not undercover work, I can't be too concerned." She saw the look on TC's face change and she felt her own face change expressions. "Undercover? You said you'd do something in undercover?"

"I said I'd do it if it came down to it. There's other departments they could put me in, Jordan. You don't have to worry about anything just yet."

"I don't have to worry about anything yet? I know what happens in undercover."

"I've done undercover work before."

"Yeah, but you didn't have a fiancé or a baby then." She got up from the couch and handed Erin to TC. "Erin, tell your daddy he needs to think sometimes." She handed him the bottle and walked towards the door.

"Where are you going?"

"I just want to go for a walk. I have a lot I have to think about now."

"You can't tell anyone what's happening. I wasn't even supposed to tell you."

Jordan sighed and gave TC a look before she walked out the door.

Ten minutes later, she met Gwen outside a little café that was equidistant from her apartment and TC and Jordan's house. "You okay?" Gwen asked, noticing the look on Jordan's face.

"Just needed to get out of the house for a little bit. This gives us some time to talk about wedding plans away from TC's prying eyes."

"So this is time to talk about your wedding dress?" Gwen asked, getting excited.

"Yep," Jordan said, hoping she could fake excitement for Gwen.

Gwen studied her best friend. "You've got something other than wedding planning on your mind. What's going on?"

"Nothing. Well, that's not exactly true. I'm worried about the sergeant's exam and what's going to come of it."

"I'm sure you did fine on it," Gwen said. "Don't worry about it."

"I'm trying not to worry, but there's also a lot of stuff happening that I can't control. And we both know that I need to have control over some stuff in my life."

"Well, you and I both know there's some stuff that you just can't control. And whatever it is that's bothering you may be one of those things. But sometimes, you just have to let go of the control and let what's supposed to happen, happen."

"You sound like a fortune cookie."

"True. But at least it makes sense, unlike actual fortune cookies."

-X-

A few days later, Jordan was sitting outside of Ragosa's office, hoping she'd be able to talk to him about a few things that had been weighing on her mind.

The day before, TC had told the rest of the squad that he'd be transferring out if Jordan was made sergeant of their squad as a way to avoid any potential conflicts of interest that could arise.

And while Jordan knew why he was doing it, she didn't like why he was doing it.

"Detective Alexander," Ragosa said, opening his door. "What can I do for you today?"

"I have something I wanted to talk to you about. In regards to being a sergeant and TC's transfer." She stood up from the chair she was sitting in and walked into his office.

"What's on your mind, Jordan?"

"I don't think it's a good idea for TC to be transferred to undercover. And I'm not just speaking as his fiancé or the mother of his child. I'm speaking as his coworker too."

"I don't understand what you're saying."

"TC really cares about the people he meets while he's on the job. And he's really good with victims. And while that's definitely a good thing, it can also be a bad thing." She swallowed thickly, hoping she was doing the right thing.

"So, what are you saying?"

Jordan took a deep breath. "I should be the one transferred to a different squad."

-X-

About a week later, Topher was in his office when he got an email from Ragosa. He clicked on it and smiled, immediately printing it off.

What he wasn't expecting was another notification for his email going off. He looked at it and saw it was a notification of a squad transfer that was happening in a week.

Deciding to keep that news to himself, he grabbed the printed email from the printer in his office and walked out to the squad room. "Can I have your attention?" he asked, holding the email in his hands. "I have the results of Jordan's sergeant's exam. And to no one's surprise, she passed with flying colors."

Jordan felt a huge weight get taken off her shoulders. She did it. She _passed._

"And not only that," Topher continued, "But she got the highest score in the city and was number 17 in the state."

"Way to go, Jordan!" Kenny said.

"I was right. I knew you'd easily be in the top 50 without any problems," Drew said.

"Thanks, Drew," Jordan said from where she was sitting. "Did the email happen to say where I'm being transferred to?"

"Transferred to?" TC asked. "You're not the one getting transferred. I am."

Jordan took a deep breath, preparing herself for what was coming. "I talked to Ragosa a few days ago and asked if I could be the one to be transferred instead of you." She looked up at him. "I didn't want to have to be constantly worried about you."

"Well, looks like Ragosa didn't listen to you," Topher said. "TC's officially going to be working undercover next week."

-X-

"You really wanted to be the one to be in undercover?" TC asked that night as him and Jordan were eating dinner. "That's where one of the open slots was."

"I wanted to be in a place where I wouldn't have to constantly worry about you," Jordan said, twisting the pendant on her necklace. "Are you mad?"

"No, it makes sense." He got up from where he was sitting and crouched down next to Jordan's chair and kissed her. "I promise I'm going to be as safe as I can."

"That's all I can ask of you."


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter Twenty-Eight: Nothing That I Wouldn't Do**

 **Author's Note: This is the second to last chapter and I'm so excited that it's here! And it's even more special because it's the TC and Jordan wedding! As always, I don't own The Night Shift or any of its characters. The chapter title comes from Make You Feel My Love by Adele.**

Jordan woke up a few months after the results of her sergeant's exam in a different room than she'd been in for the last year or so.

Instead, she woke up in the guest room at Gwen's place.

She smiled to herself and stretched. "Today's the day," she said, looking at her engagement ring. "It's wedding day."

She kicked the blankets off the bed and walked to the bathroom, sighing happily. It's been a long time coming and she was so glad it was finally happening.

She looked at her reflection in the mirror and did a double take when she saw a small spot on her cheek that was rough and looked almost scaly. "No, no, no," she said, leaning in closer to the mirror. "This can't be happening."

"Happy wedding day, best friend!" Gwen said, coming into the bathroom. "What's wrong?"

"This," Jordan said, turning around and pointing at the spot on her cheek. "The antibiotics aren't working. The stupid infection came back."

For the last few weeks, Jordan had been trying to get rid of a nasty skin infection that had originally started out as a dry skin patch. For a few days, the antibiotics her doctor prescribed had been working and she thought she'd have clear skin just in time for her wedding.

Fate seemed to have other plans for her, though.

"That's not as bad as it could be," Gwen said, squinting at the spot on her cheek. "Nothing a little makeup can't fix."

Jordan ran a hand through her hair. "You never know. Especially when it comes to me."

"Hey, today is your wedding day. You don't get to be pessimistic. Now get dressed. We're meeting Kathleen, your mom and sister for breakfast in 20 minutes."

"I have to get Erin ready too."

"You get yourself ready. I'll make sure everything with Erin is squared away."

Jordan nodded and turned her attention back to the mirror, trying to see if her infection was coming back. She ran a finger over it and grimaced.

"Don't pick at it. Just leave it alone."

"It itches and it's uncomfortable. What am I supposed to do?"

Gwen walked over to where Jordan was standing and pinched her on the arm. "Think about how much that hurts instead."

"Wow, such a big help."

-X-

"Wait," Jordan said as her, Gwen, Caroline, Kathleen and her mom lined up outside of the chapel. "Where's the tequila?"

"What are you talking about?" Kathleen asked.

"When Jordan and I were in college, she joked that she'd need to take a shot of tequila before walking down the aisle. To help calm her nerves," Gwen said.

"So where's my shot of tequila?" Jordan asked, starting to hyperventilate.

Gwen and Caroline shared a look. "I didn't think you'd still want to do it," Caroline said.

Jordan's eyes narrowed. "The two of you are joking, right? You have the tequila stashed away somewhere, right?"

"I have a mini bottle in my bag. Let me run and get it," Gwen said, running back to the bride's room of the church.

"You've been planning this since college?" Cecelia asked, looking incredulously at her daughter.

"Yep. One shot of tequila so I wouldn't be as nervous as I could be when I walk down the aisle."

"And I thought your sister was crazy for giving everyone in the wedding party mini bottles of vodka before the ceremony started."

"That's because Nick's family wanted an extremely long ceremony. I wanted my bridesmaids to be prepared," Caroline said.

"I thought it was a nice touch," Jordan said, trying to even out her breathing. She saw Gwen coming with the small bottle in one hand and five shot glasses in her other hand.

Gwen carefully poured the shots into each of the glasses and handed them out. "To TC and Jordan," she said, holding her shot glass out in the center. The five of them clinked their glasses and took the shot.

"Okay," Jordan said, touching at the corners of her mouth to make sure she didn't spill any. "It's time for me to get married."

The ushers opened the doors to the chapel and the pianist started playing the traditional wedding march. Kathleen squeezed Jordan's hand and started walking down the aisle. Cecelia smiled at her daughter and started walking down the aisle. Gwen waited a few seconds and followed Cecelia down the aisle.

Caroline turned around to face her sister. "I'm so glad you and TC are finally getting the happy ending you deserve. I love you so much," Caroline said, giving Jordan a hug before she started walking down the aisle.

Jordan watched her sister walk down the aisle and took a deep breath. "I wish you were here, Dad," she whispered.

She heard the music start to change and took another deep breath. "Here we go."

-X-

"For the first time, I'd like to present to you, Mr. and Mrs. Callahan!" the DJ at their wedding reception said. Everyone at the reception started clapping as the two of them entered.

"We did it, babe," she whispered to him.

"Yes, we certainly did," he said, pulling her closer to him as he kissed her.

"If we could get everyone to clear the dance floor, the bride and groom are going to have their first dance now."

"I hope you didn't pick a song that was too cheesy," TC said, taking her hand as they walked to the center of the dance floor.

"Well, I don't think it's too cheesy. You'll have to tell me what you think about it afterwards," she said as the opening notes to the song started playing.

TC chuckled to himself as he recognized the song. "Of course you would choose this."

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

A little while later, the happy couple was trying to sneak a bite to eat when Caroline stood up and clinked her knife against her glass. "Hi everyone, I'm Caroline White, Jordan's older sister. I remember when Jordan and I were little kids, we'd always play bride and groom with some of the kids in the neighborhood. Except, when it came down to it, I'd always be the bride and whichever boy I had a crush on would be my groom. And poor Jordan would always have to be the flower girl or the preacher." She paused while everyone started laughing. "I've only known TC for a few years, but I could always tell that him and Jordan didn't have a normal relationship between coworkers. The day she told me her and TC were having a baby was one of the happiest days in my life. And now, here we are, and I can finally call TC my brother. Welcome to the family, TC. I hope you can handle us Alexander women. To TC and Jordan," she said, holding up her glass.

Topher cleared his throat and stood up next. "I guess you could say that I'm the matchmaker that is, in a way, responsible for TC and Jordan getting together. After all, I think I was one of the first people to know about their relationship. Probably because I'm their boss." More laughter from the people at the reception. "TC, Jordan, I'm glad the two of you found happiness and I'm glad that I didn't approve Jordan's transfer request her first few months on the squad, because who knows what might have happened if I did."

-X-

"Oh my god," Jordan said, falling face first onto the bed in their hotel room. "I didn't realize how exhausting wedding receptions were until I was the bride. I never want to go through that again."

"Oh come on," TC said, loosening his tie. "It wasn't that bad."

"I'm so hungry. Did you get to eat anything? Because literally every time I tried to take a bite of food, someone was coming over to give us well wishes. Which I don't mind, of course. I just wanted to eat some damn food." She reached for the room service menu and opened it. "Ohh, look, T. They have mac 'n 'cheese. I could definitely go for mac 'n 'cheese right now." Someone started knocking on the door and Jordan groaned. "No. Go away. I don't want your well wishes right now." She pushed herself off the bed and went over to answer it. "Yes?" she asked, hoping she didn't sound too grumpy.

"Courtesy of the mother of the bride and the groom's parents," the hotel worker said, pushing in a large tray of food into their room. "Congratulations," he said.

"They put mac 'n' cheese on the tray. God bless our parents," Jordan said, looking at all the food on the tray.

"They also left us a note," TC said, picking up the note. "To the newlyweds, congratulations on your special day. We know the bride and groom don't get to eat on their wedding day, so we got you a tray of your favorites foods. We love you."

"That's so sweet," Jordan said, grabbing a fork and the large plate of mac 'n' cheese. "Time to get some food in my stomach. I haven't eaten since dinner yesterday. And all that's in my stomach now is a shot of tequila and who knows how many glasses of champagne."

"Tequila? When did you take a shot?" TC asked, grabbing a plate of wings. He laid down on the bed next to Jordan and scooped some of the mac 'n' cheese onto his plate.

"Right before I walked down the aisle. We all did a shot of tequila. It's what Gwen and I talked about doing when we were in college. So I had to make sure I did it."

"I thought I smelled alcohol on your breath when you said your vows."

Jordan smiled and leaned into his side. "We're married now."

"I know," TC said, kissing the top of her head.

"I like it. I like being someone's wife."

"Not just someone's wife. My wife. Mrs. Callahan."

"Sergeant Callahan. Got a nice ring to it." She looked up at TC. "How much longer is it before you have another undercover case?"

"I don't know yet. I haven't been assigned one yet. But that's not what I want to think about right now. I want to think about how these wings are some of the best wings I've ever had and I want to think about my beautiful wife. No work talk."

"I can comply with that. No work talk."

"I think I can agree to that," she said, taking a bite of the mac 'n' cheese. "So, I was thinking."

"Okay…" TC said. He put down the wing he was holding and wiped his hands on the napkin that was sitting on the bedside table.

"Well, Erin's going to be a year old soon. What if, once she turned one, that we tried for another baby?" Jordan looked up at TC and tried to gauge his expression.

"Why not start now?"

"Because, it would be nice to have a slight age gap in between Erin and another baby. It worked out well for me and Caroline and I'm assuming it worked out well for you and Thad. Maybe it would work out for Erin and her little brother or sister. I mean, it's just a thought. We don't have to try and have another baby," Jordan said, getting cut off by TC kissing her.

"We're going to have as many babies as you want. We can have 10 kids or we can have just Erin."

"Ten kids? I think that's a little too much," Jordan said, laughing a little. "I think two or three is the perfect amount."

"Then we'll have two or three kids. And we'll live happily ever after."

"The end," Jordan said, a smile spreading across her face.


	29. Chapter 29

**Epilogue: Greatest Fan Of Your Life**

 **Author's Note: This is it. The final installment of the fic and it's a fairly long one. This jumps forward and flashes a lot and picks up when TC starts working for the undercover unit.**

 **Thank you to everyone who has alerted this story and left reviews on it. It really means a lot to me. As always, I don't own The Night Shift or any of its characters. The chapter title comes from I'll Be by Edwin McCain.**

"I'm looking for Captain Zia," someone said, coming into the squad room a few weeks after TC's transfer was official.

"Ah, you must be Sam," Topher said, going up to the newest member of the team. "Everyone, this is Sam Watkins. He's a transfer from one of the stations on the other side of the town. Let's try and be nice to him," he said, giving a pointed look at Kenny and Drew.

-X-

"You look tired," TC said a few months after his transfer. He smiled when he saw Jordan curled up on the couch with Erin. "Everything okay?"

"I haven't been sleeping well lately. Which makes sense since you were on a super-secret case. Plus, I've felt a little sick all day. I really don't want to be coming down with something."

"Do you really not sleep when I'm undercover?"

"I sleep. It's just usually a bad night of sleep. That's what happens when you marry a worrier."

TC nodded absentmindedly and picked up Erin. "Do you think Erin picked something up at daycare and gave it to you?"

Jordan shook her head. "I don't think so. She hasn't been sick at all. Maybe I caught a bug at work or something. Or…" Jordan said, doing some quick mental math in her head. "I'm pregnant."

TC stopped bouncing Erin and looked at Jordan. "You're pregnant?"

"I think so," she nodded slowly. "It would make sense." She looked at TC with a smile on her face. "We're going to have another baby."

-X-

"Hey, Drew, can I talk to you for a few minutes?" Jordan asked a few weeks later, poking her head out of her office.

"Yeah, sure," he said, getting up from his chair. He walked into Jordan's office and sat down in one of the chairs across from her desk. "Everything okay?" he asked, noticing her close the door.

"Yeah, everything's fine." She walked back to her desk chair and pressed her lips together to contain her smile. "TC and I are having another baby."

"What?" Drew asked, a smile spreading across his face. "Jordan, that's great news. Congratulations. To the both of you."

"Thanks. So, it's a bit of a way's away, but I'm going to need a replacement sergeant for when I go on maternity leave. I was hoping you'd be my replacement."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I mean, you're nowhere as good as I am," she said jokingly, causing Drew to roll his eyes. "I just think the team has been through a lot of awkward transitions lately and I figured it would be nice for everyone else to have a familiar face around when I'm gone."

"Well, I definitely accept." Drew thought to himself for a second. "What's your reading on the new guy?"

"Sam?" Jordan asked. "As your superior, I don't think I can divulge that information."

"What about as your friend?"

Jordan looked out the window of her office and into the squad room, where Kenny and Krista were joking about something. Instead of joining in with them, Sam was intently staring into Topher's office. "Between friends? Jury's still out on that one."

-X-

"You want to make this interesting again?" TC asked Jordan when they were at the doctor's office finding out if they were having a boy or girl.

"Same deal as last time?" Jordan asked, looking up at TC. He nodded. "You're on, babe."

"I think you're having a boy this time."

Deep down, Jordan had the same feeling. But if she said that, it could potentially mean their kid wouldn't have a name by the time he – or she – was born.

Luckily, she didn't have to answer as the doctor came in at that moment.

-X-

"Jordan, it is killing me not knowing the baby's name," Gwen said one afternoon when they were having lunch.

"You're going to have to talk to T about that one because he won't even tell me. I deserve to know the name of my son before anyone else. And I guarantee you that the guys already know his name."

"I can hear you, you know," TC called from the living room.

Gwen and Jordan exchanged a look and they both rolled their eyes.

"If you really want to know," TC said, coming into the kitchen, "All you have to do is ask."

"Fine. Thomas Charles Callahan, I'm begging of you, what's the name of our son?"

"There's no need to use the full name," TC said, smirking at Jordan. "If you really want to know…"

"Cut the crap, TC, I want to know my future nephew's name," Gwen said.

"Fine. Theodore Connor Callahan. That way he's still a TC like me and he gets a little bit of Thad in his name. Connor was his middle name. And we can call him Theo." TC looked at Jordan and saw she was about to start crying. "You hate the name."

She shook her head and walked over to where he was standing before she kissed him. "I love the name."

-X-

"Hey, can I talk to you?" Drew asked Jordan one day when she got to the station.

"Yeah, sure. I do have to warn you that I'm not in the greatest mood. Erin's sick and between her getting sick, leading to me getting sick and the little man kicking me all night long…it wasn't a good night. But what's on your mind?" she asked, sitting in one of the chairs by his desk.

"How did you know you were ready to be a parent?"

Jordan sniffed and leaned back in the chair. "I knew as soon as I held Nora for the first time. I wouldn't necessarily say I had baby fever after she was born, but I certainly wanted a baby of my own around then. Luckily I waited a little bit longer to start having kids until I found my soulmate." She smiled at Drew and sighed. "Now that I have Erin and am days away from having Theo, I can't believe I wasn't ever a mother to the two of them."

"Really?"

"Really," Jordan confirmed. "Are you and Rick thinking about kids?"

"Well, there's this teenage girl we were thinking about adopting…"

"Go for it."

"You think?"

"I know."

-X-

"Here's the thing, guys," Jordan said, walking into the station the day her maternity leave ended. "The last time I came back from maternity leave, I was abducted. I'd prefer that not happen again. Can we agree not to send me to the archives?" She looked around the squad room and frowned. "Where's Sam?"

"He said he had something to take care of. He's taking the day off," Drew said. "Welcome back, Jordan. How's the little man doing?"

"He's good. And Erin is adjusting fairly well to being a big sister, which is a good thing. Speaking of Erin, her birthday party is next weekend. You're all invited, of course."

"Is TC's friend from the undercover unit going to be there?" Krista asked.

"Joey?" Jordan asked, crinkling her nose slightly. Joey and TC were almost polar opposites and it still confused her how the two of them were close friends. "I don't know. I guess TC's close to solving this one case he's been working on for awhile now so he hasn't gotten to help with planning Erin's birthday."

"I'm looking Sergeant Callahan or Captain Zia," someone said, coming into the squad room.

"I'm Sergeant Callahan," Jordan said. "What can I do for you?"

"There's something happening at the Seventh Street Park. All officers within a five-mile radius are being called in."

Jordan sighed and looked at the squad. "That's us, guys. Let's get out there."

The squad gathered what they needed and headed out to the park.

When they got there, they saw massive amounts of dead and injured people being loaded into various ambulances. "Looks like we've got our work cut out for us," Kenny said, looking around the scene.

"What happened?" Jordan asked to no one in particular.

"Hell of a day for Sam to take off," Topher said, coming up to his squad. "Bomb squad is searching the area for another potential bomb to go off. That's all we know so far."

"One bomb did this?" Jordan asked. She looked around and saw TC standing next to his captain from the undercover unit. "TC's over there. Want me to go over and see if I can get some information?"

"That might be the best way to get information. I don't see Chief Adkins anywhere," Topher said. "Let us know what he says."

"Will do." Jordan walked over to where TC was and reached out to touch his arm. "Any clue about what's happening here?"

TC sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I wish I had a clue. We're completely stumped."

"Okay. I thought I'd come over and see if you knew what was going on. Toph and I figured you'd probably be better to ask than the chief. Especially because the media's about to converge on the scene."

"They're going to want answers we don't have." TC smiled slightly to himself. "Why is it bad things happen the day you come from back maternity leave?"

"Who knows?" Jordan said. "Good thing we're not planning to have any more kids." She looked over and saw Topher was talking with Chief Adkins. "I should get back over there. Stay safe," she said, giving him a quick kiss.

"You too. Tell the rest of the squad that."

Jordan nodded and walked over to where they were standing and came into Topher and Adkins' conversation halfway through. "We're working closely with the bomb squad and the fire department to keep track of everything. Any other questions that the reporters ask, you respond with no comment. Understand?"

"Yes, sir," Topher said.

"Great. Make sure your squad knows that. If I catch wind of anyone going off script, they're suspended for a week. We need to control this one as much as we can."

Topher watched as the chief walked away, presumably to tell the other squads that were assembled the same thing they'd just heard. "TC have any information?"

"Nothing. They seemed really shaken up that this happened. I don't think anyone was expecting it." Jordan sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "Whoever did this was smart to do it at the park. Especially since it's slightly warmer than normal and a lot of the school kids still might on break."

"Maximum people present so there could be a maximum amount of casualties. I should call Janet and make sure her and the kids are okay and tell them not to come down here. You should do the same for Erin and Theo."

"They're not coming to the park today. James is in town and him and Melissa are practicing babysitting for when they have kids. They'd mentioned something about going to the mall later."

"Sarge, Captain," O'Neill said, coming up to the two of them. "Paul and the rest of my team are bagging up evidence now and we're taking it to the lab. Hopefully we can get some answers soon. I'll keep you updated when I know more."

"Thanks, Josh," Topher said. "I know I'm preaching to the choir when I say this, but make sure everything gets an individual bag and triple check the voucher numbers."

"I'll make sure the rest of the technicians know that. Though they better by now. I'll let you know when we have something."

Jordan's phone started ringing and she pulled it out of her pocket, seeing James was calling her. "Hey, it's really not a good time right now," she said. "Can I give you a call back in a little bit?"

"I was just calling to see if you knew what's happening at the mall? Melissa and I just got here, but mall security is telling everyone the mall's on lockdown and there's smoke coming from the back."

"There's something happening at the mall too?" Jordan asked, turning to Topher. He shrugged and she put her phone on speaker.

"There's smoke and everyone's running out of there. Do you know what's going on?"

"Maybe there's some connection," Topher said. "If most of the force is here, that means there's not as many officers patrolling other parts of the city."

"This is going to be more complicated," Jordan said.

"Sis, you still there?" James asked.

"Yeah, sorry. Take the kids and go back to the house. Don't leave until you hear differently from me or TC. Got it?"

"Got it. See you guys at some point."

Jordan hung up the phone and sighed. "Toph, what the hell is happening in the city?"

"I don't know," Topher said, looking around. "But I don't like it."

-X-

"Hey," TC said, coming over to where Jordan was standing in one of the volunteer tents. He poured himself a cup of coffee and looked into Jordan's cup, seeing if she needed a refill. "How's stuff going on your end?"

"Not well. How about you guys?"

"About the same. Did you hear from James at all? I know him and Melissa were talking about going to the mall…"

"They're safe. They were still in the car when the mall was evacuated. He texted me and said the four of them were safe at the house. Erin's contently watching a movie and Theo's taking a nap."

"That's good. I hate worrying about them while we're both out here."

"It's not fun being the worrying parent," Jordan said, leaning her head on TC's shoulder.

"No. It's definitely not." He kissed the top of her head as his phone started ringing. "It's the lab. I should take this. Lunch later?"

"We'll see," Jordan said. She waited around until TC finished the call. "Any news?"

"O'Neill said he may have something that popped up from another case. I'll be back. I love you."

"Love you too. While you're there, can you see if O'Neill has anything about today?"

"Yeah, I can do that. I'll give you a call to give you an update."

Jordan nodded, watching TC walk off.

"Hey, Jordan, will you look at this for me?" Krista asked, coming up to where Jordan was standing.

She finished the rest of the coffee from her cup and tossed it in the trash can. "That's from an old case," Jordan said, looking at the photographs in Krista's hands. "Where do you think that could have come from?"

"I don't know. I wanted to pick your brain first. Should I run it over to Topher?"

"Probably a good idea."

Across town, someone opened the door to the lab. O'Neill was typing something on the computer and didn't take his eyes off the screen. "Good, TC, glad you're here. You're not going to believe this." He turned around and was greeted by a cop – but it wasn't TC.

The cop plunged a knife into O'Neill's stomach. He took it out and stabbed him again, this time stabbing him in the heart. The cop watched with a satisfied smile as O'Neill fell to the ground and started gushing blood out of the two stab wounds.

He heard the door to the lab open and looked around for somewhere to hide. He crouched down behind one of the lab tables and watched as TC came into the lab.

"Hey, O'Neill, what you got for me?" TC asked, rounding the corner. He saw the computer that O'Neill was working on was still open and had a DNA match for something flashing on the screen. He stepped closer to see what it said but before he could get closer to the computer, he saw O'Neill bleeding out on the floor.

Thinking fast, TC pulled out his phone and started dialing 911. Before he could finish, he was hit in the back of the head with something and he crumpled to the ground.

-X-

Jordan checked her phone for the umpteenth time in the last five minutes. TC had gone over to the lab a few hours and she still hadn't heard back from him. She knew he was good friends with O'Neill, but they wouldn't be having social hour when a case of this magnitude was breaking out all throughout the city.

"If you need to head the lab, you can," Topher said. "I know you're worried about TC."

"I'm not worried, necessarily. I just haven't heard back from him or O'Neill about anything that was tested. I haven't even heard back from any of the technicians that went back to the lab."

"Go check it out. Everyone who's here right now is working on this. Go see what the hold up in the lab is."

"You sure?"

"Jordan, go. That's a command."

"Thanks, Toph." She started jogging towards the police car she'd driven over in and got in. She turned on the sirens and started driving off towards the lab, hoping she'd be able to get some answers to all the questions that had been raised at different points in the day.

She walked into the lab and immediately noticed something was off. For as much evidence as the techs had brought in, she thought the place would be swirling with activity. Instead, it looked as if no one was even at the lab.

She heard a strange noise behind her and she pulled her gun out of her holster and turned around, pointing it in the direction of the sound. "Paul?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

Paul was tied to a chair and had duct tape over his mouth. Jordan put her gun back in the holster and walked over to where he was sitting. "What happened?" she asked, taking the tape off his mouth.

"This lunatic is loose in the building. He has a knife. I was trying to get something put away in the evidence locker and I was hit over the head. I came to a little before you came in."

Jordan untied Paul. "So you don't know which way the perp went?"

"No clue. I'm really sorry, Jordan."

"Don't worry about it. You stay down here. I'm gonna go up and try to find out if O'Neill knows anything about what happened today and I'm going to try and find my husband."

Paul swallowed thickly. "Okay. Thanks for the help, Jordan."

"No problem," she said. She took a deep breath and pulled out her gun. She walked slowly up the stairs, constantly checking to make sure no one was following her from behind.

She got to the second floor and saw a streak of blood on one of the doors. She slowly opened the door and stepped it, shutting it gently behind her.

She stepped further into the lab. She saw the computer was still on, but nothing was on the screen. She noticed there were still tabs open in one of the programs and she clicked on some of them, looking at what O'Neill had been working on. "Oh my god," she said, looking at a DNA match for something that had today's date on it.

She heard something crash and she whipped her head around. She started walking towards where the sound came from and turned the corner with her gun raised. But instead of coming face-to-face with the person whose DNA was a match, she saw TC tied to a chair the same way that Paul was and she saw O'Neill lying on the floor, covered in blood.

She walked over to where TC was bound and took the tape off his mouth. "Thank god you're here," TC whispered. "The guy…"

"I know," Jordan whispered. "I saw who it was. He's going down for this."

"No, you don't understand. He's still in here. He's going to set off another bomb if we don't stop him."

Jordan started untying TC from the ropes that held his hands. They dropped to the ground and TC stood up and immediately pulled Jordan in for a hug. "I've been undercover for a few years now and I've never been this scared in my life."

"I'm glad you're okay. When I didn't hear from you—" The two of them heard a crash and then the slamming of the door. "He's getting away."

"I'm right behind you," TC said as the two of them started running towards the door.

"Stop right there!" Jordan yelled when they got out of the lab and to the stairs.

The guy running in front of them didn't look back and jumped over the railing to the stairs when he was a few feet off the floor.

"Son of a bitch," Jordan said as her and TC started running down the stairs. They followed the suspect outside. "We lost him," Jordan said. "You go right and I'll go left."

TC nodded and they both took off running in their different directions.

Jordan looked down a side alley, trying to figure out which way the perp went. She heard a car start to rev up behind her and she turned around in time to see a silver car speeding towards her. The car hit Jordan and she went flying, hitting the roof of the car before she hit the road.

"Jordan!" TC said, running towards her.

"T…" Jordan said, struggling to get up. She pressed her hand against a spot on her neck and pulled it away, seeing it was bright red with blood. "T…it was…S…" she said before she lost consciousness.

-X-

"It's about time you woke up," Gwen said a few hours later when Jordan started waking up in the hospital.

"What happened?" Jordan said, feeling like her head was throbbing.

"You got hit by a car. Somehow, you only ended up with a concussion and a dislocated shoulder. And the doctors had to stitch up the laceration on the back of her neck. But other than that, nothing else happened. Pretty miraculous."

"Sam was driving the car," Jordan said. "He's behind everything that happened today. I don't know if it was just him or if there were more people…"

"They got him, honey," Gwen said. "They got everyone who was involved. All because of you and TC."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Turns out, the case that TC's been working on the last few months and this one were connected. They got everyone who was involved because it was still pulled up on the computer in the lab. You and TC actually saved more lives today. There was another bomb that was supposed to go off at the airport."

"Oh my god. Is T okay?"

"He's pretty shaken up. I should go get him so he'll know you're awake. I have to get back down to the morgue, anyway. Lots of dead bodies down there." Gwen got up and gave her best friend a hug the best she could without hurting Jordan's shoulder. "I'll come back up later."

Jordan nodded and shifted how she was sitting in bed. A few minutes after Gwen left, the door opened again and TC came in, looking relived to see Jordan. "I'm so glad you're okay."

"Me too. Are you okay?"

"I'm a lot better now that I know you're awake. How do you feel?"

"I've been better. Sounds like it could have been much worse than it actually was."

"Yeah. God, these last few hours have been hell. I know how you feel when I go undercover now."

"It's not fun, is it?"

"No, not at all." He looked at Jordan's face. "What's on your mind?"

"I just keep thinking about what would have happened if I hadn't gone to the lab when I did. And, I mean, I see dead bodies a lot, but seeing O'Neill's body…it wasn't good for me. And then I started thinking about what would happen if it was O'Neill who was tied up and it was you who was dead…"

"You don't have to think about that, Jordan."

Jordan nodded. "So, what happened while I was out?"

"Everyone who was involved was captured and they're being questioned now. It's over."

-X-

A week later, the SAPD were all gathered outside of Internal Affairs' building. One by one, they watched as the caskets of the fallen techs and police officers were being loaded into hearses to go to the various cemeteries throughout the cities.

Despite the overcast weather, Jordan was wearing a pair of sunglasses to cut down on the sensitivity to the light. She reached over and took one of TC's hands in hers and laid her head on his shoulder. "That could have been one of us. Or both of us."

"But it's not. And that's what you have to keep thinking about." He looked down at her. "You still wanting to transfer?"

After Jordan was released from the hospital, Jordan had gone to Topher to propose a series of transfers and promotions to get people back to where they belonged. Because Jordan had the media training from college, she was putting in a transfer to become a communications liaison for the department, which would give her much more normal hours.

Once her transfer was approved, it would allow Drew the opportunity to take over as the squad's sergeant, something Jordan knew he was more than ready than to do.

And if Drew became the sergeant, they'd have two openings on the squad. One of the openings would be filled by TC, who had put in his transfer request to come back to the squad, which would leave only one opening that Internal Affairs would have to fill instead of two.

All Topher would have to do is sign the papers.

"Most definitely," Jordan said. "It'll keep me sane for a little longer and it'll make me worry about you much less than if you went back to working undercover."

"Any idea who's going to be the replacement for Sam?"

"Someone who is going to undergo an extensive background check," Jordan said, scratching at the spot on the back of her neck where the stitches were.

"Stop or you'll have a scar," TC said.

"Says the guy with multiple scars," she said, smiling up at him. "I can't wait to get home and hold Erin and Theo extra tight. And probably never let go."

TC smiled and kissed her on the forehead. "You're going to let go at some point."

"At least for the foreseeable future," Jordan said. "Why don't you and I head home and make sure our kids know how much we love them?"

"I think that's a fantastic idea."

The two of them walked towards their car and they got in it, Jordan a little slower because of the sling her arm was in to keep her shoulder steady.

"They're so cute," Krista said, watching their car as it drove away. "They deserve each other," she said, turning back to the squad.

"They're definitely a love story for the books," Topher agreed, smiling to himself.

He still liked to take credit for the two of them getting together.


End file.
